Mexico's leader touts sharp drop in homicides

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum unveiled new data on Thursday showing daily homicides have dropped 40% nationwide since she took office, a major reduction that she has highlighted in part to show the Trump administration that Mexico is making gains in its fight against organized crime.

- BY KATE LINTHICUM

Some security analysts, however, said the data do not present the full story, and noted that other indicators of violence, such as kidnappings and forced disappearances, are up.

In a presentation at her daily news conference, Sheinbaum said there had been a daily average of 87 homicides recorded in September 2024, the month before she assumed the presidency. In December 2025, there were 52 killings a day. Homicides, she said, had fallen to their lowest levels in a decade.

In 2025 Mexico had 17.5 homicides per 100,000 residents, according to the government. In contrast, there were 29.1 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2018 and 25.4 homicides per 100,000 in 2024.

The U.S. had a homicide rate of 4 killings per 100,000 people last year, according to preliminary data.