Mexico: Missing persons cases soar under Sheinbaum's tenure

Mexico is enduring one of the most complex moments in its recent history as a consequence of the continuity of extreme violence and the crisis of enforced disappearances that have accompanied the country for decades.

Under Claudia Sheinbaum, the administration has placed special emphasis on highlighting the reduction of homicides as one of its main security achievements. However, this progress coexists with a problem that remains critical and subject to review: disappearances.

Since Sheinbaum took office in early October 2024, figures from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP) highlight a significant reduction in intentional homicides: the daily average went from 86.9 victims in September 2024 to 50.9 in January 2026, representing a drop of 42% in just over 16 months, equivalent to 36 fewer homicides each day. According to the government, this is the lowest figure since 2016.

The president and the head of the SESNSP, Marcela Figueroa, have emphasized this downward trend as a result of the National Security Strategy, with reductions in most of the federal entities.

"Forty-two percent reduction in intentional homicide, from September 2024 to January 2026; that means 36 homicides per day fewer than those committed in September. There are 36 daily homicides less, 36 people stopped losing their lives, let's put it this way, daily in Mexico, between September 2024 and January 2026. In addition to the reduction in other crimes," the president highlighted at the morning conference on Feb. 10.

Increase in people missing and unaccounted-for

Regarding the number of people who are missing and unaccounted-for, the picture is very different. According to the National Registry of Missing and Unaccounted for Persons (RNPDNO), between Oct. 1, 2024, when Sheinbaum assumed the presidency of Mexico, and Feb. 1, 2026, there have been 16,185 missing and unaccounted-for persons registered.

Likewise, the investigative portal A Dónde Van los Desaparecidos revealed that, during the first year of Sheinbaum's government, Mexico reached a new historic high in terms of disappearances: every day, around 40 people disappear without being located, which is equivalent to 1.6 cases per hour.

The site also revealed that as of Oct, 1, 2025, there have been 14,765 disappearances in the country, a figure 16% higher than in the last year of the Andrés Manuel López Obrador administration, when 12,695 victims were documented.

According to RNPDNO, the national historical total (1952-2026) remains at around 131,822 to 132,000 people unaccounted for as of mid-February 2026.

Thousands of people continue to disappear every year in Mexico. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), authorities have not taken sufficient steps to prevent these disappearances and hold those responsible accountable to justice.