Daily Murders in the nation Drop Over a Third During President Sheinbaum, As per Government Figures

The mean count of everyday killings per month in Mexico has fallen by more than a third since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum began her term, per fresh official data. Nevertheless, public safety specialists have warned that murder data may not signal improved countrywide security.

Marked Reduction in Per-Day Averages

Officials reported an mean of nearly 55 murders a day in November versus roughly 87 when the President assumed the leadership in September of last year. This information was shared by the chief of the nation's federal safety agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s daily news conference on Tuesday.

“The figures in murders that we have seen in these months is extremely significant,” Sheinbaum stated, noting that the previous month the smallest number of homicides were recorded for any single November in the last 10 years.

Historical Background and Government Plan

Violent organized crime rivalries, combined with the government’s heavily militarised operations to combat the trafficking organizations, have caused Mexico’s murder numbers soar in the past few years. The figure peaked at a peak of 36,773 killings in 2020, as reported by the country’s official data agency.

That meant Mexico a homicide figure over four times higher than that of the United States. However, murders have been on the downward trend, dropping to 33,550 last year. The President has credited her public safety approach for an ostensibly more pronounced reduction in homicides in the current year.

At a news briefing in August, the President stated: “There is a strategy, there is oversight of the strategy, and there is detailed tracking locality by locality in some cases. The strategy works. And we have to keep working at it daily.”

The key pillars of Sheinbaum’s security plan encompass:

• Reinforcing Mexico’s national guard.
• Advancing information gathering and investigative capabilities.
• Increased collaboration between various agencies.

Analyst Warnings and Data Limitations

However, public safety researchers urged caution that using murder numbers to draw a conclusion of pacification was problematic. This is particularly true considering the increase in other criminal activities such as abductions.

“It would be positive information if this were a decrease, but I think we shouldn't just focus on the murder data and think: ‘Well then, good,’” said Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an specialist on Mexican organised crime. “I would be cautiously optimistic.”

Per the public policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, killings overall fell by over 20% in the initial 10 months of the current year compared with the same period last year. However, missing persons cases have risen by 15% and in certain regions have increased by as much as 200%.

“Data on homicides is no longer valid for gauging the situation of insecurity,” said Armando Vargas, a security analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have law enforcement and investigators who do not have the resources or the will to correctly recognize and classify corpses. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the means to mask violent acts through disappearances.”

Vargas noted that using monthly means of daily homicides was also concerning because it may obscure periods when there were notably high numbers of killings.

“Using the daily mean renders high peaks of violence less visible,” he concluded.

Detentions and Confiscations as Measures of Progress

An area where the government can highlight the success of its safety plan is on arrests and confiscations. Close to 40,000 suspects were arrested between last October and November 2025 for high-impact offenses, per official data. More than 20,000 weapons were taken and 311 tons of narcotics intercepted.

“Donald Trump cannot claim President Sheinbaum of doing nothing, because actually she is doing a lot with these thousands of detentions, thousands of seizures, and all the tactical degrading of criminal groups. It’s highly in political terms advantageous,” stated Vargas.

Persistent Unrest and Societal Anger

However in spite of these measures, Mexico is still beset by extreme bloodshed, with a number of states in the throes of cartel-driven bloodshed. In the previous month there was a high-profile murder of a popular local official in the state of Michoacan, among 10 local leaders assassinated in the past year.

A short time later, many thousands of protesters took to the streets in the capital and across the country to voice their outrage at corruption and drug violence.

“The federal government shares [data] in a manner to build a narrative of security. From a political standpoint it’s highly effective, socially it’s extremely problematic,” Vargas concluded.