The record number of killings in Mexico in 2019 continues with 542 homicides registered nationwide during a recent one-week period. Organized crime and turf disputes generated the majority of the bloodshed, according to government sources.

During a one-week period from October 18 to 24, at least 542 homicides were recorded by the Secretaría de Seguridad y Participación Ciudadana. In September, 2,825 murders were registered.

State (Homicides During Period)

*Denotes Border State Abutting U.S.

México State (62)

Guanajuato (60)

Jalisco (45)

Guerrero (41)

Baja California (39)*

Sinaloa (35)

Michoacán (34)

Veracruz (32)

Chihuahua (29)*

Puebla (25)

México City (21)

Nuevo León (17)*

Oaxaca (12)

Tabasco (12)

Hidalgo (10)

Zacatecas (9)

Morelos (9)

Sonora (9)*

Quintana Roo (9)

Chiapas (7)

San Luis Potosí (6)

Tamaulipas (6)*

Coahuila (4)*

Durango (3)

Colima (2)

Tlaxcala (2)

Querétaro (2)

The states of Nayarit, Campeche, Aguas Calientes, and Yucatan did not record any homicides during the one-week period.

During the first 10 months of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration which began in December 2018, a total of 29,629 homicides were tallied, according to local reports.

The five deadliest states per 100,000 inhabitants in 2019 are as follows:

Colima (63)

Baja California (55)

Chihuahua (43)

Morelos (34)

Guanajuato (33)

AMLO’s government recently came under attack over his handling of the capture and subsequent release of a high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel member in Culiacan. The son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was released after authorities determined his capture was not worth the violent retribution occurring in the vicinity.

AMLO campaigned on and is delivering a strategy of promoting social justice and improving living conditions based on beliefs that such actions will help undercut cartel violence overall.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce completed work assignments in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year tour in Monterrey, Mexico, for the U.S. Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program.