Murders in Mexico surge to record in first half of 2019

President Lopez Obrador, who took office in December, has accused previous administrations of exacerbating the violence through their economic policies

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Policemen guard a crime scene in Minatitlan, Veracruz in April. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:22am, 22 Jul 2019Updated: 7:22am, 22 Jul 2019

Murders in Mexico jumped in the first half of the year to the highest on record, according to official data, underscoring the vast challenges President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador faces in reducing violence in the cartel-ravaged country.

There were 14,603 murders from January to June, versus the 13,985 killings registered in the first six months of 2018, according to data posted over the weekend on the website of Mexico’s national public security office.

Police guard an estate where the bodies of three men, a grave with four corpses and nine plastic bags with human remains were found, in Tonala, Jalisco in July. Photo: EPA

Mexico is on course to surpass the 29,111 murders of last year, an all-time high.

For years the country has struggled with violence as governments battled brutal drug cartels, often by taking out their leaders. That has resulted in the fragmentation of gangs and increasingly vicious internecine fighting.

Veteran leftist Lopez Obrador, who took office in December, has accused previous administrations of exacerbating the violence through their economic policies and said his government was targeting the issue by rooting out corruption and inequality in Mexico.

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