Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

• 🔫 August security report headlines the mañanera: National Public Security System chief Marcela Figueroa presented the latest homicide data, reporting an average of 40.8 homicides per day in August — a 53% drop from September 2024, the final month of the López Obrador administration, and the lowest daily average since Sheinbaum took office.

• 📉 Least violent August since 2015: Figueroa’s data showed that last month was the least violent August by homicide count in over a decade, down 32.1% from August 2025. The preliminary annualized per capita homicide rate for 2026 is 12.9 per 100,000 people, a 38.6% year-over-year decrease.

• 🗺️ Violence concentrated in seven states: Nearly half of this year’s 11,586 homicides (Jan.–Aug.) occurred in just seven states — Guanajuato, Baja California, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, México state, Guerrero and Morelos. Homicides fell in 30 of Mexico’s 32 states.

• 🚔 García Harfuch — Reduction in homicides “doesn’t mean the job is done”: Security Minister Omar García Harfuch acknowledged the decline in murders, but stressed that the government still has work to do to improve security across Mexico.
• ⛓️ More than 67,000 people have been arrested for high-impact crimes since Sheinbaum took office: García Harfuch provided an update on arrests, noting that 111 public officials are among those detained. He also reported that 34,353 firearms were seized between October 2024 and August 2026, while 88 tonnes of cocaine were confiscated at sea and 534.8 tonnes of drugs were confiscated on land.

Why today’s mañanera matters

Today’s mañanera was significant as officials presented the national security report for the month of August.

President Claudia Sheinbaum and other federal officials frequently argue that the reduction in homicides and various other crimes is evidence that the federal government’s security strategy — based on four pillars including attention to the root causes of crime — is working.

However, there is skepticism about the accuracy of the government’s homicide numbers, which are based on data provided by Attorney General’s Offices in each of Mexico’s 32 federal entities. National Action Party Senator Ricardo Anaya added his voice to the skepticism in a speech he made last Tuesday in response to Sheinbaum’s second annual government report.

The president has rejected claims that homicide figures are not accurate because some murders are classified as other less serious crimes.

“Homicide is homicide, there is no manipulation,” she said July 14.

Homicides down 53% in August compared to September 2024 

National Public Security System chief Marcela Figueroa reported that there was an average of 40.8 homicides per day in August, a reduction of 53% compared to September 2024, the final month of the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

She noted that the daily homicide average in August was the lowest of any month since Sheinbaum took office 23 months ago.

Figueroa highlighted that, on average, there were 46 fewer homicides per day in August than in September 2024, a month in which the daily murder rate was 86.9.

The least violent August in more than a decade 

Figueroa presented a graph that showed that last month was the least violent August in terms of homicides of any year since 2015.

Compared to August 2025, the reduction in homicides last month was 32.1%.

Per capita homicide rate down 38% annually in 2026 

Figueroa presented data that showed that Mexico’s per capita homicide rate increased 127% over the course of former President Felipe Calderón’s six-year term to reach 22 homicides per 100,000 people in 2012.

The per capita homicide rate increased 32% during ex-President Enrique Peña Nieto’s six-year term to reach 29.1 homicides per 100,000 people in 2018.

During former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s term, the per capita homicide rate declined 13% to 25.4 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024.

Figueroa said that the “preliminary annualized” per capita homicide rate in 2026 is 12.9, a reduction of 49% compared to 2024. The year-over-year decrease is 38.6%.

Almost half of all homicides this year were perpetrated in 7 states 

Figueroa presented data that showed there were 11,586 homicides across Mexico in the first eight months of 2026. Of those murders, 5,715, or 49.3% of the total, were committed in just seven states.

They were Guanajuato (983 homicides between January and August); Baja California (970); Chihuahua (924); Sinaloa (866); México state (702); Guerrero (652); and Morelos (618).

Mexico City ranked as the 12th most violent entity between January and August with 533 homicides.

Seven states recorded fewer than 50 homicides in the period. They were Yucatán (17); San Luis Potosí (34); Durango (36); Nayarit (42) Baja California Sur (43); ; Aguascalientes (47); and Coahuila (49).

Homicides declined in 30 entities between January and August

Figueroa presented data that showed that homicides declined in 30 of Mexico’s 32 federal entities between January and August.

The five states with the biggest year-over-year reductions were San Luis Potosí (-79.8%); Nayarit (-65.3%); Quintana Roo (-59.9%); Baja California Sur (-53.8%); and Zacatecas (-51.3%).

The only states where homicides didn’t decline in the first seven months of 2026 were Oaxaca and Coahuila.

Figueroa said that the results “reflect the impact of ongoing coordination” between the federal Security Cabinet and state governments.

High-impact crimes down 39% since October 2024 

Figueroa said that an average of 391 high-impact crimes were reported in Mexico per day in August, a decline of 39% compared to October 2024, Sheinbaum’s first month in office, and a reduction of 35% compared to September 2024.

Among the offenses classified as high-impact crimes are homicides, femicides, kidnappings, acts of extortion, violent robberies and rape.

Figueroa highlighted that the high-impact crime rate in August was the lowest of any month since Sheinbaum took office.

García Harfuch: Reduction in homicides ‘doesn’t mean the job is done’

At the start of his report on “the advances of the National Security Strategy,” Security Minister Omar García Harfuch acknowledged the 53% decline in homicides between September 2024 and last month.

The reduction in homicides, he added, “doesn’t mean the job is done.”

“There are still regions that require ongoing attention as well as crimes we face every day,” García Harfuch said.

He said that authorities have an obligation to “continue working in order to deliver results to citizens.”

More than 67,000 people arrested since Sheinbaum took office 

According to data presented by García Harfuch, 67,253 people were arrested between Oct. 1, 2024 — the date Sheinbaum was sworn in as president — and August 31, 2026, for allegedly committing high-impact crimes.

“These are people who cannot continue generating violence or harming people,” the security minister said.

García Harfuch mentioned a number of high-profile arrests during the current term of government, including those of Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, who was fatally wounded during an operation in Jalisco in February, and Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, an alleged criminal leader accused of planning the murder of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo last November.

He also reported that 111 public officials, including mayors, have been detained during the execution of Operación Enjambre (Operation Swarm), a federal strategy aimed at combating collusion between organized crime and municipal officials.

“The president’s instruction is zero tolerance of corruption and zero impunity without concern for a person’s position or political affiliation,” García Harfuch said.

He also told reporters that authorities seized 34,353 firearms between Oct. 1, 2024 and the end of August. García Harfuch said that 80% of those weapons came into Mexico from the United States.

“The important thing is that 61% of these seized firearms are long guns, and a significant proportion were located in Sinaloa, Sonora and Baja California,” García Harfuch said.

“Every firearm seized reduces crime groups’ firepower and reduces the risk of … [these weapons] being used against the [civilian] population and against authorities,” he said.

García Harfuch reported that the Mexican Navy has seized 88 tonnes of cocaine at sea since the current government took office, while “on land,” 534.8 tonnes of drugs have been confiscated.