Security was a central focus of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Tuesday morning press conference.
Security officials presented the latest data on homicides and arrests, while Sheinbaum spoke about her government’s security strategy.
Homicides decline in first month of 2026
National Public Security System chief Marcela Figueroa told reporters that the daily homicide rate in Mexico in January was the lowest of any month in the past 17 months — i.e., since September 2024, the final month of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency.
She also said that last month was the least violent January in terms of homicides since 2016.
The data Figueroa presented showed there was an average of 50.9 homicides per day last month, a decline of 34% compared to January 2025.
On average, there were 36 fewer homicides per day last month than in September 2024, the security official highlighted.
Figueroa also said that since Sheinbaum took office, there has been a “sustained downward trend” in homicide numbers.
Last month, she presented preliminary data that showed that homicides declined just over 30% last year compared to 2024. However, there is significant skepticism about the accuracy of the government’s homicide numbers.
Guanajuato remains Mexico’s most murderous state
Figueroa presented data that showed that over half of all homicides in Mexico last month (50.6%) occurred in just seven states.
Guanajuato — Mexico’s most violent state in recent years in terms of total murders — recorded 138 homicides in January, a figure that accounted for 8.8% of the national total of 1,577.
Ranking second to seventh for total homicides last month were:
- Baja California: 133
- Chihuahua: 124
- México state: 108
- Sinaloa: 106
- Morelos: 98
- Guerrero: 91
Among the 32 federal entities, Mexico City ranked 13th for total homicides with 64 in January.
Yucatán and Zacatecas recorded the equal lowest homicide count in January, with just three murders in each state.
Zacatecas recorded largest annual decline in murders in January
Figueroa highlighted that homicides in Zacatecas declined 88% last month compared to January 2025. In the early years of this decade, Zacatecas was plagued by violence.
However, homicides in the northern state declined 71.1% last year, according to data presented last month.
After Zacatecas, the states that recorded the largest annual decreases in homicides in January were:
- San Luis Potosí: -83.9%
- Quintana Roo: -73.2%
- Tabasco: -68.8%
- Aguascalientes: -66.7%
Twenty-six of Mexico’s 32 federal entities recorded fewer homicides last month than in January 2025, according to the data presented by Figueroa.
Among the other states that recorded year-over-year declines were those that ranked 1-7 for total homicides last month.
Homicides declined 62.3% in January in Guanajuato; 28.9% in Baja California; 19.5% in Chihuahua; 30.3% in México state; 27.9% in Sinaloa; 9.3% in Morelos; and 25.4% in Guerrero.
More than 43,000 people arrested for ‘high-impact crimes’ since Sheinbaum took office
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch told reporters that “since the beginning” of Sheinbaum’s administration, the federal government has implemented a security strategy that “prioritizes attention to the causes [of crime], the strategic use of intelligence, criminal investigation, and coordinated territorial operations” involving various institutions including the army, the navy, the National Guard and the Security Ministry.
Consequently, “criminal structures” have been weakened, “priority targets” have been detained and the incidence of “high-impact crimes” such as murder and kidnapping has declined, García Harfuch said.
Between Oct. 1, 2024 and Jan. 31, 2026, he said that 43,438 people were arrested for allegedly committing high-impact crimes.
In the same period, García Harfuch said that authorities seized over 327 tonnes of drugs and 22,800 firearms, while the army and navy dismantled more than 2,000 methamphetamine laboratories.
Is security in Mexico improving or are the numbers being manipulated?
Sheinbaum highlights security strategy advances
Asked what she attributed the reduction in homicides and other crimes to, Sheinbaum pointed to progress that has been made in three “main areas” as part of the implementation of her government’s security strategy.
She said that the National Guard — an almost seven-year-old security force — is now “consolidated,” intelligence and investigative practices have been strengthened and there is “greater coordination” between state authorities and “all the institutions of the government of Mexico.”
“Obviously, attention to the causes [of crime] has also been strengthened,” Sheinbaum added.
The current federal government has taken a more proactive approach to combating crime than the 2018-24 administration led by López Obrador.
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson reportedly said in September that the Sheinbaum administration had made a “bold change” in security strategy in Mexico by ramping up operations against drug cartels. On social media, he has praised Mexican authorities for the high-profile arrests they have made, even as U.S. President Donald Trump calls on Mexico to do more to combat cartels and the drugs they traffic.
On Jan. 12, four days after Trump said that the United States was going to start targeting Mexican cartels on land, Sheinbaum touted her government’s security results during a call with the U.S. president.
She subsequently said that U.S. military action in Mexico could be ruled out.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
