Mexico's Murder Rate Rises in First Five Months of 2019

Now into the first six months of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's (AMLO) administration, the country’s homicide rate stood at 14,133 cases, with May standing out as the most violent month with 2,903 Mexicans were killed.

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The numbers were reported Thursday by the office of Mexico’s Secretary of the National Public Safety System. The figures show that 94 homicides per day were reported in the first half year.

According to the Secretary’s office, in 13 instances, the number of reported murders in May 2019 exceed the numbers for the same month in 2018, with 2,890 homicides reported.

The data indicate that murders were at 2,724 in April, 2,845 cases in March, 2,804 in February, and 2,857 in January.

The 14,133 homicides in the first five months of 2019 represent a 6.3 percent increase compared to the 13,298 murder victims in the same period last year.

Including the number of murders since AMLO took office in December 2018, the total rose to 14,133.

The Mexican states experiencing the highest rates of this kind of violence in May 2019 were Mexico at 328 cases, Baja California at 288, Jalisco with 284, Chihuahua at 278, Guanajuato at 256, Veracruz with 231, Michoacan at 244, Mexico City at 244, and Guerrero at 220.

During 2018, Mexico’s murders added up to 33,369 — the most violent year in the country since 1997.