Daily Killings in the nation Drop 37% During the Sheinbaum Administration, According to Government Data

The mean count of per-day killings each month in the country has fallen by more than a third since Head of State Claudia Sheinbaum began her term, per fresh government data. But, security experts have advised that murder figures might not point to better countrywide stability.

Marked Drop in Per-Day Numbers

Officials reported an mean of nearly 55 killings a day in the month of November versus roughly 87 when the President began the leadership in the previous September. This announcement was delivered by the chief of the nation's federal safety agency, Marcela Figueroa Franco, during the president’s regular news conference on a recent Tuesday.

“The outcome in killings that we’ve had over these past months is remarkably notable,” Claudia Sheinbaum stated, explaining that in November the smallest figure of homicides were registered for any single November in the last decade.

Recent Context and Official Plan

Intense drug cartel rivalries, alongside the government’s highly militarised operations to combat the cartels, have made Mexico’s homicide numbers soar in the past few years. The figure hit a peak of 36,773 killings in 2020, per the nation's national statistics office.

That gave Mexico a homicide figure over four times greater than that of the United States. However, murders have been on the decline, falling to 33,550 in the last calendar year. The President has linked her national security plan for an apparently more pronounced reduction in killings this year.

At a news briefing in the summer, the head of state declared: “There is a plan, there is oversight of the strategy, and we have detailed tracking locality by locality in some cases. The plan functions. And we have to keep working at it each day.”

The main components of Sheinbaum’s security strategy include:

• Bolstering Mexico’s domestic security force.
• Improving intelligence and investigative work.
• Increased coordination between various authorities.

Analyst Skepticism and Statistical Concerns

Nevertheless, public safety researchers urged caution that relying on homicide statistics to paint a picture of improved security was problematic. This is particularly true considering the uptick in other criminal activities such as people going missing.

“That would be very good news if this was a drop, but I think we must not just look at the murder numbers and say: ‘Alright, great,’” stated Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, an expert on Mexican criminal organizations. “I would be guardedly optimistic.”

According to the policy analysis organization Mexico Evalúa, killings in total declined by over 20% in the initial 10 months of this year relative to the identical timeframe the previous year. Yet, missing persons cases have gone up by 15% and in certain states have increased by up to 200%.

“Statistics on murders is not valid for gauging the situation of public insecurity,” said Armando Vargas, a safety analyst at Mexico Evalúa. “Firstly, we have law enforcement and prosecutors who do not have the ability or the inclination to properly identify and categorize remains. Secondly, organized [criminals] … have the ability to hide violent acts through disappearances.”

Vargas noted that using monthly means of everyday homicides was additionally an issue because it may obscure days when there were notably spiking levels of killings.

“Employing the per-day average makes surges of violent crime less visible,” he stated.

Detentions and Seizures as Metrics of Progress

An area where the government can point to the effectiveness of its safety strategy is on arrests and confiscations. Close to 40,000 individuals were arrested between last October and November 2025 for serious crimes, per government data. Over 20,000 firearms were confiscated and 311 tonnes of drugs confiscated.

“Trump cannot claim President Sheinbaum of doing nothing, because in reality she is doing a lot with these thousands of detentions, many thousands of seizures, and all the tactical weakening of criminal groups. It’s extremely politically profitable,” said Vargas.

Ongoing Violence and Public Anger

Yet notwithstanding these measures, Mexico is still plagued by high violence, with several states in the throes of cartel-related bloodshed. Last month there was a notable killing of a well-liked local official in the region of Michoacan, one of 10 mayors killed in the last year.

A short time after, thousands of protesters demonstrated in the capital and throughout the country to voice their outrage at graft and narco-violence.

“The federal government shares [data] in a manner to build a picture of security. From a political standpoint it’s extremely successful, socially it’s extremely problematic,” the analyst said.