Security Assessment / Invitation to Donald Trump Inauguration

First Security Assessment of 2025. Marcela Figueroa, Head, Executive Ministry of National Public Security (SESNSP), reported intentional homicides decreased by 18.3% from January 2018 to December 2024, with a 16.3% reduction recorded in 2024. Half of the homicides were concentrated in Guanajuato, Baja California, the State of Mexico, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Guerrero, and Nuevo Leon. In Sinaloa, a 13.7% decrease was reported in 2024, while nationally, high-impact crimes dropped by 38% during the same period. Feminicides declined by 15.8%. 

Minister of the Interior, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, emphasized coordinated efforts involving 37 federal agencies and 100 programs. Recent actions focused on Guanajuato, Chiapas, Tabasco, the State of Mexico, Guerrero, and Baja California. December 2024 saw peace-building initiatives across the country, involving over 105,000 participants. Rodríguez highlighted the government's approach to addressing root causes of violence and presented the slogan, "No venimos a ganar una guerra, venimos a construir la paz,” (We Did not Come to Win a War, We Came to Build Peace).

Minister of Security Omar García Harfuch, reported a 16.3% reduction in daily homicide victims from January 2018 to December 2024. In the first 100 days of Sheinbaum's government, authorities detained 7,720 people for high-impact crimes, seized over 66t of drugs, and dismantled 115 methamphetamine laboratories in eight states. Additional measures included the confiscation of 3,600 firearms.

In Sinaloa, operations resulted in the arrest of 43 high-priority targets and 558 individuals linked to criminal cells, along with the seizure of over 400 armored vehicles. In Acapulco, targeted efforts included arrests of seven key persons and 450 members of criminal groups. Security operations also continued in Chiapas, Baja California, the State of Mexico, Mexico City, Guanajuato, Guerrero, and Veracruz, supported by the combined efforts of federal forces.

Gun Trafficking to Mexico. When questioned about the report from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), indicating that over 200,000 firearms are trafficked into Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum highlighted that this report acknowledges the arms trafficking issue originating in the United States.

Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero emphasized that data reveals the scale of the problem. He noted that 74% of the weapons come from the United States, fueling the operational power of Mexican criminal cartels, which rely heavily on firepower. He stressed the importance of containing this threat through Mexico's armed forces and highlighted the suffering caused by the abundance of illicit arms in the country. He said that this also underscores the importance of maintaining good relations with the United States to continue this issue.

Gertz emphasized that Mexican authorities must register seized firearms and share the data with the federal government, which then provides it to the United States for further tracking. The ATF noted that many of these weapons are recovered in regions with significant cartel activity.

Invitation to Trump's Inauguration Ceremony. President Sheinbaum said she has not received an invitation to attend Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States. According to her, only the Mexican Ambassador to the United States Esteban Moctezuma has been invited. Sheinbaum noted that US presidential inaugurations do not always invite Heads of State and expressed confidence in building a positive relationship with the US government.