Baja California became Mexico’s leader in number of homicides — Mexico News Daily
In Mexico, the state of Baja California ranked first in the number of homicides in January–September 2026. During this period, 1,092 homicides were recorded there, or 8.5% of the nationwide total of 12,854 cases.
As Mexico News Daily reports, the data were presented at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference by Marcela Figueroa, head of the National Public Security System. Baja California narrowly surpassed the state of Guanajuato, where 1,089 homicides were recorded over nine months. Through the end of August, Guanajuato had recorded the highest number of such crimes since the start of the year.
Distribution of homicides among states
After Baja California and Guanajuato, the highest numbers of homicides in January–September were registered in Chihuahua — 1,009, Sinaloa — 987, the State of Mexico — 818, Guerrero — 731, and Morelos — 673. Together, the seven states with the highest figures accounted for 49.8% of all homicides in the country during this period.
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The fewest homicides over nine months were recorded in Yucatán — 21. According to Figueroa, compared with January–September 2025, the number of homicides declined in all 32 federal entities of Mexico. The largest decrease, of 78.6%, was registered in San Luis Potosí.
September statistics and security measures
In September, the country’s average number of homicides was 42.2 per day, 30.6% lower than the 60.8 per day recorded in September 2025. At the same time, compared with August, the daily figure increased by 3.2%. According to data presented by Figueroa, September 2026 was the September with the lowest homicide rate since 2015.
Figueroa also said that the average daily number of homicides in September was 51.4% lower than in September 2024, when it stood at 86.9 cases. Security Minister Omar García Harfuch stated that from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2026, 70,571 people were detained in Mexico on suspicion of committing crimes classified by the authorities as high-impact crimes. According to him, 36,303 firearms and nearly 570 tonnes of drugs were seized during the same period.
