Daily Homicides in the nation Fall Thirty-Seven Percent Under Claudia Sheinbaum, According to Official Data

The typical number of everyday homicides each month in the country has dropped by thirty-seven percent since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office, according to new government data. But, public safety analysts have cautioned that homicide data could fail to point to improved national security.

Marked Reduction in Per-Day Numbers

Officials reported an mean of nearly 55 killings a day in the month of November versus almost 87 when Claudia Sheinbaum assumed the presidency in September. This data was shared by the head of the nation's national public security agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s daily press briefing on a recent Tuesday.

“The result in killings that have been recorded in these months is extremely significant,” Claudia Sheinbaum said, noting that last month the smallest figure of murders were recorded for any November in the last 10 years.

Historical Background and Official Strategy

Intense cartel infighting, combined with the administration's heavily military operations to confront the trafficking organizations, have led to Mexico’s homicide numbers rise sharply 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 murder figure more than four times greater than the US. However, killings have been on the downward trend, falling to 33,550 the previous year. The President has attributed her public safety strategy for an seemingly sharper drop in homicides this year.

At a news briefing in the summer, the President stated: “We have a strategy, there is tracking of the strategy, and there is detailed monitoring municipality by municipality in certain cases. The plan works. And we have to keep working at it every day.”

The main components of Sheinbaum’s safety plan include:

• Strengthening Mexico’s national guard.
• Enhancing information gathering and investigation work.
• Greater collaboration between various departments.

Expert Warnings and Statistical Concerns

But, public safety experts urged caution that relying on murder statistics to paint a picture of improved security was misleading. This is especially true considering the uptick in different criminal activities such as people going missing.

“This would be very good news if this were a drop, but I think we can’t just focus on the murder numbers and say: ‘Oh well, excellent,’” said Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an authority on Mexico's cartels. “I would be tentatively optimistic.”

Per the policy research organization Mexico Evalúa, homicides in total fell by over 20% in the initial 10 months of the current year relative to the identical period last year. But, disappearances have gone up by 15% and in certain regions have increased by up to 200%.

“Data on homicides is no longer useful for assessing the reality of public insecurity,” said Armando Vargas, a safety expert at Mexico Evalúa. “First, we have law enforcement and prosecutors who do not have the resources or the inclination to properly recognize and classify corpses. Secondly, organised [criminals] … have the ability to conceal violent acts through abductions.”

Vargas added that relying on month-to-month averages of everyday killings was additionally problematic because it might hide days when there were particularly elevated numbers of murders.

“Employing the daily mean renders surges of violence invisible,” he stated.

Arrests and Seizures as Metrics of Progress

An area where the administration can highlight the effectiveness of its security strategy is on detentions and confiscations. Almost 40,000 individuals were detained between October 2024 and November 2025 for high-impact crimes, according to official figures. More than 20,000 firearms were taken and 311 tonnes of drugs seized.

“Donald Trump cannot claim President Sheinbaum of inaction, because in reality she is doing a lot with these many thousands of arrests, thousands of seizures, and all the tactical weakening of organised crime. It’s very in political terms beneficial,” commented Vargas.

Ongoing Violence and Societal Frustration

However despite these actions, Mexico remains plagued by high violence, with multiple states in the midst of cartel-driven bloodshed. In the previous month there was a prominent killing of a popular mayor in the region of Michoacan, among 10 mayors murdered in the past 12 months.

Weeks later, thousands of young people protested in the capital and throughout the nation to express their frustration at graft and drug violence.

“The administration presents [data] in a manner to build a picture of safety. From a political standpoint it’s very potent, socially it’s highly questionable,” the analyst remarked.