Mexico’s top security official is celebrating a decrease of 50 murders in April compared to March, suggesting it marks a greater stem in violence.
This week, Mexico’s Public Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo released the crime statistics for April and praised a decrease from 3,000 murders in March to 2,950 in April.
“We managed to reverse the growing trend (homicides) again and we are slightly down in numbers of intentional homicides, Durazo said. “The containment line has been retained and the upward trend has not been allowed.”
Mexico averages approximately 90 murders a day.
The desire to tout any improvement in homicide figures comes as cartel violence spreads to areas long considered immune to bloodshed. Guanajuato and Baja California, two of the top three states with the most murders, were previously considered peaceful tourist hotspots. In recent months, they saw a spike in violence as cartels carved turf.
The inability to control cartel violence nationwide pushed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) to order that country’s military again undertake public security operations for the next four years. AMLO campaigned for office by promising an end to the militarized response to cartels and ushered the creation of the National Guard as an umbrella agency for civilian security forces.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
Tony Aranda from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.