ASSESSMENTS

Murder in Mexico in 2019: A Midyear Checkup

Jul 11, 2019 | 10:00 GMT

Mexican police take position outside a house during a search in Tlajomulco de Zuniga, Jalisco State, Mexico, on June 21, 2019.

Mexican police take position outside a house during a search in Tlajomulco de Zuniga, Jalisco State, Mexico, on June 21, 2019. (Photo by Ulises Ruiz / AFP)

(ULISES RUIZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Mexican news outlet Milenio counted 2,249 murders nationwide in June, the highest monthly total since it began keeping its own tally in 2007 and the first time its numbers have ever surpassed 2,000 for a given month.
  • According to Milenio, the four Mexican states with the highest murder counts in the month were Jalisco with 206, Mexico with 202, Baja California with 181 and Guanajuato with 176, an unsurprising development for those who have been tracking the country's cartel dynamic.
  • The Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion is playing either a direct or indirect role in nearly every part of the country experiencing elevated violence.

Mexican news outlet Milenio on July 1 published its unofficial count of murders in Mexico for the first half of 2019. Milenio counted 2,249 murders in June alone, the highest monthly number the news outlet has recorded since it began keeping its own tally in 2007. In fact, this is the first time that Milenio's numbers have ever surpassed 2,000 for any given month. According to Milenio, the four states with the highest murder counts in June were Jalisco with 206, Mexico with 202, Baja California with 181 and Guanajuato with 176. While these numbers are not official, they still serve as a good barometer by which to measure the state of the country's violence. As expected, Mexico appears well on its way to another record-setting year for murders. Based on the trends we outlined in our 2019 annual cartel forecast, the high levels of violence in Jalisco, Mexico State, Baja...

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