Daily Killings in the nation Drop Thirty-Seven Percent Under President Sheinbaum, According to Government Data

The mean number of everyday killings each month in the country has decreased by thirty-seven percent since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power, according to fresh administrative data. But, security experts have cautioned that murder numbers may not signal improved countrywide safety.

Significant Decline in Daily Figures

There was an mean of nearly 55 killings a day in last November as opposed to almost 87 when Claudia Sheinbaum began the presidential office in September of last year. This information was provided by the director of the country’s federal public security system, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s daily news conference on a recent Tuesday.

“The outcome in homicides that we have seen in these past months is very significant,” Sheinbaum remarked, noting that in November the lowest number of murders were documented for any November in the last decade.

Historical Background and Government Strategy

Violent cartel internal conflicts, coupled with the administration's highly militarised campaigns to take on the trafficking organizations, have made Mexico’s murder rate rise sharply in recent times. The figure reached a peak of 36,773 homicides in 2020, as reported by the nation's official data agency.

That meant Mexico a murder figure over 4x greater than the US. From that point, murders have been on the downward trend, dropping to 33,550 the previous year. Sheinbaum has credited her national security plan for an ostensibly sharper decline in homicides in the current year.

At a news briefing in August, the head of state stated: “We have a strategy, there is monitoring of the strategy, and we have detailed monitoring municipality by municipality in some cases. The strategy functions. And we have to persist at it daily.”

The central components of Sheinbaum’s security plan involve:

• Bolstering Mexico’s domestic security force.
• Improving intelligence and investigative capabilities.
• Greater coordination between various departments.

Analyst Skepticism and Data Concerns

However, public safety experts urged caution that using homicide numbers to assess the situation of improved security was misleading. This is especially true in light of the uptick in different crimes such as forced disappearances.

“This would be excellent news if this was a reduction, but I think we can’t just focus on the murder numbers and conclude: ‘Well then, great,’” commented Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexican cartels. “I would be tentatively hopeful.”

Per the public policy research thinktank Mexico Evalúa, murders overall declined by over 20% in the initial 10 months of this year compared with the same period last year. Yet, missing persons cases have increased by 15% and in some states have surged by up to 200%.

“Statistics on homicides is not reliable for assessing the reality of public insecurity,” stated Armando Vargas, a safety analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have police and prosecutors who lack the ability or the will to properly identify and categorize bodies. Second, organised [criminals] … have the capability to conceal violence through disappearances.”

Vargas added that using monthly means of daily killings was also problematic because it may hide periods when there were notably spiking numbers of killings.

“Relying on the daily average makes high peaks of violence invisible,” he said.

Detentions and Confiscations as Metrics of Progress

An area where the administration can highlight the success of its security strategy is on arrests and confiscations. Close to 40,000 individuals were detained between last October and November 2025 for high-impact offenses, according to government figures. More than 20,000 firearms were taken and 311 tons of narcotics confiscated.

“The former US president cannot accuse President Sheinbaum of inaction, because in reality she is doing a lot with these many thousands of arrests, many thousands of confiscations, and all the operational degrading of organised crime. It’s highly politically advantageous,” commented Vargas.

Ongoing Violence and Societal Frustration

However in spite of these efforts, Mexico remains beset by high bloodshed, with multiple states in the throes of cartel-related violence. In the previous month there was a high-profile assassination of a popular local official in the state of Michoacan, one of 10 local leaders killed in the last year.

A short time later, thousands of protesters protested in the capital and across the nation to express their frustration at graft and narco-violence.

“The administration frames [data] in a manner to create a story of improvement. From a political standpoint it’s very effective, socially it’s highly debatable,” the analyst said.