Mexico Reports 51% Drop in Daily Homicides Since Start of Current Administration

The Security Cabinet presented the monthly report on the progress of the National Security Strategy corresponding to the month of July at the daily press conference of President Claudia Sheinbaum. 

Omar Garcia Harfuch, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, highlighted that between October 1, 2024 and July 31, 2026, under the current administration, 63,500 people have been detained for high-impact crimes. While authorities have seized 32,800 firearms and 518 tons of illegal drugs, including 5 million fentanyl pills. He added that across 23 states, the Army and Navy have destroyed 2,725 clandestine drug-labs and staging areas used for the production of methamphetamine.

Garcia Harfuch noted that as a result of the “ongoing maritime surveillance operations” the Navy conducted five operations off the coast of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero during July and August, resulting in the arrest of 24 individuals and the seizure of over 6 tons of cocaine.

“It is worth noting that, under the current administration, the Navy has seized a total of nearly 88 tons of cocaine in Mexican waters,” highlighted Garcia Harfuch. 

Meanwhile, Marcela Figueroa Franco, head of the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security, highlighted a 51% decrease in the daily average of intentional homicide between September 2024, when there was an average of 86.9 homicides registered daily, and July 2026, which  averaged 42.5 daily homicides, marking the lowest figure recorded during the entire 22-month period with 44 fewer homicides per day.

In addition, Figueroa Franco highlighted that high-impact crimes continue a downward trend. Comparing October 2024, when a daily average of 636.6 cases were recorded nationwide, with 422.4 recorded in July 2026, this represents a 33% reduction, marking the lowest figure in the last 22 months. Furthermore, she highlighted that looking at the national daily average year by year from 2018 to 2026, the reduction reaches 54%. She noted that if the trend continues through the current year, “it would also mark the year with the lowest figure in the country. 

Among the high-impact crimes showing the greatest reductions are: violent vehicle theft (51%), followed by extortion-related kidnapping (a 28.2% drop), total violent theft (15.9%), intentional injury by firearm (11.4%), and femicide (7.7%).

The head of the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security also noted that seven states accounted for 49% of the intentional homicides in the country: Guanajuato (8.6%), Baja California (8.6%), Chihuahua (8.1%), Sinaloa (7.1%), Estado de México (6%), Guerrero (5.6%), and Morelos (5.5%). She also highlighted that the actions implemented under the strategy have driven down homicides across nearly the entire country; 30 states showed a decrease when comparing the first seven months of 2026 with the first seven months of 2025. Specifically, the states of San Luis Potosí, Nayarit, Quintana Roo, and Zacatecas, experienced a significant decrease, concluded Figueroa Franco. 

Image: Gobierno de México