Why today’s mañanera matters
Murders in Mexico and deaths of Mexicans in ICE custody were key focuses of President Sheinbaum’s Tuesday morning mañanera. The latest national homicide data — compiled from statistics supplied by Mexico’s 32 Attorney General’s Offices — was presented, making today’s mañanera particularly noteworthy, and Sheinbaum responded to the death of yet another Mexican at an ICE detention center.
A core responsibility of any government is to guarantee the safety of the people under its jurisdiction, and in that respect the Sheinbaum administration says it is making significant progress, although officials acknowledge there is still plenty of work to be done.
At face value, the decline in murders appears to be good news. However, as Mexico News Daily reported in January, there are doubts over the accuracy of the government’s homicide numbers.
Homicides declined 31% annually in March
National Public Security System chief Marcela Figueroa presented preliminary data that showed there was an average of 51.4 homicides per day across Mexico in March, a decrease of 31.4% compared to the same month last year. She said that last month was the least violent March of the past 11 years.
Figueroa also highlighted that the average daily homicide rate last month was 41% lower than that in September 2024, the final month of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency. She noted that there were 35 fewer homicides per day on average in March than in September 2024.
Figueroa also presented data that showed there was an average of 50.8 homicides per day in the first three months of 2026, an annual decline of 32.8%. It was the least violent first quarter of any year since 2016.
Sheinbaum attributed the decline in homicides to her government’s security strategy.
“We’re working and we have to work more, but the security strategy is yielding results,” she said.
Guanajuato led Mexico for murders in March
Figueroa reported that Guanajuato recorded 147 homicides in March, representing 9.2% of all homicides committed across the country last month.
The next six most violent states in terms of total homicides in March were:
- Chihuahua: 132 homicides (8.3% of the national total)
- Baja California: 128 homicides (8%)
- Morelos: 102 homicides (6.4%)
- Guererro: 101 homicides (6.3%)
- México state: 95 homicides (6%)
- Oaxaca: 94 homicides (5.9%)
Just over half of the 1,593 homicides counted last month were committed in the seven states with the highest number of murders.
Nine states recorded fewer than 10 murders last month. They were Campeche (8); Baja California Sur (5); Zacatecas (5); Aguascalientes (4); Coahuila (4); Durango (3); San Luis Potosí (3); Yucatán (3); and Nayarit (0).
Another Mexican national dies in ICE custody
A reporter noted that another Mexican died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, who passed away at the Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana on Saturday, is the 15th Mexican to die in ICE custody since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in early 2025 and commenced an immigration crackdown. ICE said in a statement that the 49-year-old “was found unresponsive” and resuscitation efforts failed.
Sheinbaum noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) issued a statement regarding the death on Monday.
The statement said that “communication is ongoing with the [U.S.] authorities involved to determine the cause of death and surrounding circumstances, in order to fully clarify the facts.”
⛓️🙅♀️ #MañaneraDelPueblo| Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo ordena a personal diplomático mexicano acudir diario a centros de detención de migrantes en EUA, tras fallecimiento de 15 connacionales en operativos:
“Le he señalado a Trump que no estoy de acuerdo en las detenciones que hace ICE” pic.twitter.com/i3wH6Kg0Pp— La Jornada Tlaxcala (@JOrienteTlax) April 14, 2026
The SRE also said that “together with the family and the Ministry’s legal advisors, the next actions in the case will be carefully assessed.”
“The Ministry reiterates its deep concern and its demand for immediate action. The repeated occurrence of deaths in custody is unacceptable and reveals serious deficiencies in ICE detention centers,” the SRE added.
Sheinbaum said she has instructed staff in Mexican consulates in the U.S. to visit ICE detention centers on a daily basis to check on the welfare of detained Mexicans.
“They were visiting them once a week, but now I asked them to visit every day,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that her government has assisted families of Mexicans who have died in ICE custody to file criminal complaints in the United States.
She said that her government is also referring cases involving allegedly negligent “practices” in ICE detention centers to international bodies, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
“We’ll stand up for Mexicans at every level,” Sheinbaum said.
“… There are a lot of Mexicans whose only crime is not having [immigration] papers,” she added.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
