Security was a central focus of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Tuesday morning press conference.
Security officials presented the latest data on homicides, arrests, firearm seizures and drug confiscations across Mexico.
Homicides declined almost 25% in first 9 months of 2025
Marcela Figueroa Franco, head of the National Public Security System, presented preliminary data that showed there was an average of 67.4 homicides per day in Mexico during the first nine months of the year.
The figure represents a decline of 24.9% compared to the daily average in the first nine months of 2024.
Figueroa said that the daily homicide average between January and September was the lowest since 2016.
Sheinbaum has said on numerous occasions, including on Tuesday, that the decline in homicides is proof that her government’s security strategy is working. The strategy has four core tenets, including the strengthening of intelligence and investigation practices and attention to the root causes of crime.
Guanajuato leads Mexico in homicides in 2025
Figueroa presented data that showed that there were 18,407 homicides in Mexico in the first nine months of 2025.
Around one in nine of the murders was perpetrated in the state of Guanajuato, which has led Mexico in homicides for several years.
The Bajío region state recorded 2,084 homicides between January and September, accounting for 11.3% of the national total.
Several Guanajuato municipalities, including Tarimoro, Salvatierra, Salamanca, Celaya and San Miguel de Allende, are among the 50 “most dangerous municipalities” in Mexico based on their per-capita homicide rates between September 2024 and August 2025, according to the crime data website El Cri.men.
San Miguel de Allende ranked as the 50th most dangerous municipality in the period.
Among the crime groups that operate in Guanajuato are the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which are engaged in a long-running turf war.
More than half of murders this year occurred in just 7 states
Figueroa noted that 51% of homicides between January and September were committed in just seven states. In addition to Guanajuato, those states are:
- Chihuahua: 1,371 homicides, representing 7.4% of the national total.
- Baja California: 1,344 homicides (7.3% of the national total).
- Sinaloa: 1,302 homicides (7.1%).
- México state: 1,208 homicides (6.6%).
- Guerrero: 1,069 homicides (5.8%).
- Michoacán: 1,024 homicides (5.6%).
Mexico City recorded the 13th highest number of homicides among Mexico’s 32 federal entities between January and September. The capital recorded 644 murders, accounting for 3.5% of the national total.
Yucatán recorded the lowest number of homicides in the first nine months of the year, with 23.
Homicides in September were lower than a year earlier in 23 states
Figueroa reported that Zacatecas recorded 88% fewer homicides in September than in the same month a year earlier. The state recorded just four homicides last month, the lowest of any state in the country.
Zacatecas is one of 23 entities that recorded fewer homicides in September than in the same month of last year.
Five other states recorded annual declines in murders of above 50% in September.
- Chiapas: 73% decline.
- Quintana Roo: 68% decline.
- Jalisco: 62% decline.
- Nuevo León: 61% decline.
- San Luis Potosí: 53% decline.
The nine states that recorded a higher number of homicides in September than a year earlier were Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Durango, Michoacán, Nayarit, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Yucatán.
Over 34,000 arrests for high-impact crimes during Sheinbaum’s first year as president
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch reported that 34,690 people were arrested for allegedly committing “high-impact” crimes such as murder, kidnapping and extortion in the 12 months to Sept. 30, a period that coincides with the first year of Sheinbaum’s presidency.
He said that “important operators of criminal organizations and priority targets who generated high levels of violence in different entities of the country” were among those arrested in the past year.
Those detained are linked to crimes including extortion, homicide, kidnapping, drug trafficking and weapons offenses, García Harfuch said.
Firearm and drug seizures
García Harfuch said that authorities seized 17,200 firearms in the year to Sept. 30.
He said that the seizure of weapons reduces the firepower of criminal organizations and results in “less violence on the streets.”
García Harfuch reported that 283 tonnes of drugs, including more than 3 million fentanyl pills, were confiscated during Sheinbaum’s first year in office.
He also said that the army and navy destroyed 1,564 drug laboratories across 22 states in the same period.
“In these actions, more than 2 million liters and over 400 tons of chemical substances have been seized. This is an unprecedented figure that represents an economic impact to criminal organizations of hundreds of millions of pesos. Furthermore, it prevents the production of these harmful substances,” García Harfuch said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
