President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo said Mexico has seen the largest reduction in intentional homicides in more than a decade.
This claim comes as the administration seeks to defend its security strategy against critics who argue that the government is politicizing crime statistics to mask systemic violence.
During a morning press conference in Mexico City, Sheinbaum said a 49% decline [1] in intentional homicides was due to the daily work of her security cabinet. She said the current trend in violence reduction is unprecedented in the last 10 years.
Beyond homicide rates, the president highlighted other security achievements. Sheinbaum said authorities have dismantled 2,400 drug laboratories [1] as part of a broader effort to disrupt narcotics production and reduce the trafficking of fentanyl to the U.S.
However, the administration's figures face scrutiny. While government sources credit the security cabinet for the decline, other reports suggest the indicators are misleading because they combine data from different sources [3].
Sheinbaum said the reported metrics reflect a real shift in the country's safety landscape. She said the coordination between different security branches has led to the current results, a stance she used to counter accusations that the data is being manipulated for political gain.
Despite the disputes over methodology, the president said the operational success of the security cabinet remains the primary driver of the decrease in violent deaths.
“No se veía una baja de homicidios así en más de una década.”
The discrepancy between the president's reported figures and the critiques from external analysts highlights a persistent trust gap in Mexico's official crime reporting. If the 49% reduction is verified, it represents a significant shift in the efficacy of federal security operations; however, the reliance on mixed data sources suggests that the administration may be utilizing specific metrics to project a narrative of success during a period of high political scrutiny.
