Homicides in Mexico are down by half under Sheinbaum: Wednesday’s mañanera recapped

Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds

Why today’s mañanera matters

A range of important issues were discussed at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Wednesday morning press conference, including several related to security.

Security Minister Omar García Harfuch provided a security update, during which he highlighted a significant reduction in homicides and provided the latest data on arrests.

Later in the press conference, Sheinbaum spoke about the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s alleged participation in a drug lab raid in Chihuahua last month, a development that has strained the U.S.-Mexico security relationship and prompted the president to offer a lesson on Mexico’s legal framework to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

Also of note at today’s mañanera was Sheinbaum’s declaration that the USMCA-focused trade talks between Mexico and the United States that will take place in Mexico City this week will be “very good.”

Government touts 49% decline in homicides 

At the start of the press conference, Sheinbaum told reporters that homicides are down 49% this month compared to September 2024, the final month of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency.

Security Minister García Harfuch subsequently presented data that showed there have been an average of 44.3 homicides per day so far in May, a reduction of 49% compared to an average of 86.9 murders per day in September 2024. The data he presented showed a 31.4% decline in homicides this month compared to May 2025.

García Harfuch said that the 49% decline compared to September 2024 is the product of “several factors,” including the strengthening of the National Guard, which now has 120,000 members.

He also cited the strengthening of intelligence and investigation practices, which is another pillar of the national security strategy the government presented shortly after it took office in October 2024.

García Harfuch also told reporters that “close to 54,300 people” — 54,297 to be precise — have been arrested for allegedly committing high-impact crimes since the government took office. Such crimes include murder, kidnapping and extortion.

The arrests, García Harfuch said, reduce the number of criminals “on the street” and “increase peace.”

“… It’s more than 50,000 people who cease committing crimes on the street and no longer affect families,” he said.

Among other remarks, García Harfuch highlighted that 92 “priority target” prisoners “from all the cartels and all the factions of criminal groups” were sent to the United States in three transfers between February 2025 and January 2026.

Mexico sends 37 alleged criminals to US in third major prisoner transfer

The transfers contribute to “the strengthening of the rule of law and the strategic coordination [with the United States], always with respect for national sovereignty,” he said.

García Harfuch said that many of the transferred prisoners continued to commit crimes while incarcerated in Mexico.

85 officials detained since government took office

García Harfuch also reported that federal forces have detained 85 current and former officials since the government took office in October 2024. He said that number includes seven sitting mayors, including one detained in Morelos last week.

The arrest of officials is part of the commitment to “zero impunity,” García Harfuch said.

When there is proof that a current or former official has committed a crime, he or she will be “investigated and arrested” no matter what political party he or she belongs to, he said.

García Harfuch said that the 85 officials detained during the current administration are from “all” of Mexico’s political parties.

More than 400 tonnes of drugs and over 28,000 firearms seized 

García Harfuch also reported that the Mexican military has dismantled 2,382 clandestine drug laboratories during the current administration. They were used for the production of synthetic drugs, such as methamphetamine, he said.

“These actions carried out by the Mexican Army and the Navy Ministry represent a significant blow to criminal structures,” García Harfuch said, explaining that the dismantlement of drug labs reduces criminal groups’ capacity to manufacture narcotics and results in large economic losses for them.

He also reported that authorities have seized 402.8 tonnes of drugs, including large quantities of fentanyl, since October 2024.

The drug seizures, García Harfuch said, prevent “millions of doses” from reaching the streets, “interrupt national and international drug trafficking routes” and result in large economic losses for criminal groups.

He told reporters that authorities have seized “almost 30,000 firearms” since the government took office, “78% of which come from the United States.” The security minister presented data that showed that the exact number of guns confiscated since Oct. 1, 2024, was 28,739.

He said that the seizure of guns reduces organized crime groups’ “lethal capacity,” including their capacity to confront authorities and “dispute territories” with rival organizations.

“Every one of the weapons [seized] means fewer shots fired and fewer injuries on the streets,” García Harfuch said.

Sheinbaum: CIA agents who allegedly participated in drug lab raid in Chihuahua have left the country  

A reporter asked the president what happened to the two surviving CIA officers who allegedly participated in a drug lab raid in Chihuahua last month alongside state forces. Two other CIA agents who allegedly took part in the operation were killed in a car accident along with two Mexican officials.

Sheinbaum said that her government sent a “note” to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico requesting that the two CIA officers leave the country. She said that the CIA personnel subsequently “withdrew” from the country. Sheinbaum said that the two officers didn’t have accreditation from the Mexican government that allowed them to conduct “intelligence work” in Mexico.

Although the Federal Attorney General’s Office has not yet concluded an investigation into the alleged participation of the CIA personnel in the drug lab raid, Sheinbaum has accepted that they did indeed take part.

She has said that the Mexican government didn’t authorize or have knowledge of their participation in the raid, and therefore, the Mexican Constitution and the National Security Law were violated. Sheinbaum has directed most of the blame for the CIA’s participation to authorities in Chihuahua, which is governed by the National Action Party (PAN), Mexico’s main opposition party.

Mexico-US trade talks in CDMX 

Sheinbaum said that a new round of trade talks between Mexico and the United States begins in Mexico City today, although they are in fact scheduled to commence on Thursday. The discussions are part of the USMCA review process.

Sheinbaum said that the bilateral dialogue will be “very good.”

She said that Economy Ministry officials, including Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard, and Mexico’s soon-to-be ambassador to the United States, Roberto Lazzeri, would participate in the talks.

She noted that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is not part of the U.S. delegation arriving in Mexico today.

Sheinbaum said that Greer called Ebrard to advise him that he couldn’t travel to Mexico as he had been called to a cabinet meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. She said it was not yet clear whether Greer would come to Mexico to join this week’s talks, but highlighted that he would have a virtual meeting with Ebrard.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative said in a statement on Wednesday that “on May 28-29, Deputy United States Trade Representative Ambassador Jeff Goettman will lead a U.S. delegation to Mexico City for the first bilateral negotiating round with Mexico, which will feature negotiations on economic security and rules of origin for key industrial goods.”

Second and third negotiating rounds are scheduled for June and July. One key aim for Mexico is to negotiate the elimination, or at least the reduction, of various U.S. tariffs on Mexican exports, including duties on vehicles, steel and aluminum.