There were 3,080 killings in June, an increase of over 8 percent from the same month a year ago and making it the most violent month this year, according to Mexico News Daily.
There were 14,603 homicide cases opened from January to June, versus the 13,985 registered in the first six months of 2018, according to information supplied by the National Public Security System (SNSP) on Saturday. Homicide cases can contain more than one victim, so the SNSP also keeps a record of individual homicide cases, of which there were 17,138 during the first half of 2019, according to the Business Insider.
Mexico, with a population of 125 million people now sees almost 100 killings every day, up from 94 homicides a day two weeks ago. Baja California was the most violent state in June, followed by Chihuahua, Guanajuato, México state and Jalisco. The state of Yucatan had the lowest rate with 16 homicides in June.
“I could give you 10 potential, plausible reasons, but the truth is we don’t know, and that is perhaps the biggest problem,” said security analyst Alejandro Hope. “There is very little systematic research that would allow us to conclude what is really happening.”
Cartels and turf wars
Drug cartels, violent gangs, and extortionists have all proliferated – But President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s cutbacks and a widespread reorganization of security forces have made it difficult to assess exactly which conflicts are causing the rise in homicides.
The new security force, the centerpiece of the government’s security strategy, wasn’t deployed nationally until the end of June, so it will be difficult to figure out how well the added security will affect the homicide rate. López Obrador admitted last month that he had not yet made progress in combating the high levels of insecurity but blamed previous administrations for the problem.
