President Pena Nieto Claims Mexico Homicides Drop Despite Uptick in Killings Deborah Bonello - InSight Crime
go to original July 17, 2016

Demonstrators march for peace in the wake of soaring drug-related violence in Guadalajara. (Reuters/Henry Romero)

The public relations campaign for Mexico's militarized crackdown on organized crime and its effectiveness in restoring public security continues, but the data doesn't back up President Enrique Peña Nieto's claims.

The president assured Mexicans that on a national scale there have been important reductions in homicides, kidnappings and extortions while speaking at the inauguration of a new military barracks in the northern state of Coahuila on July 12, reported El Universal.

But although government figures show small decreases in kidnapping and extortion between January and May of 2016 compared to that period last year, homicides have increased by more than 15 percent, jumping from 6,706 in the first five months of 2015 to 7,743 in 2016.

Peña Nieto acknowledged that challenges remain in parts of the country, and that the military would continue to play a role in addressing those problems. The president told the Mexican people that the government wouldn't stray from its main objective of restoring peace and tranquility, one of the promises that he campaigned on during his presidential bid in 2012.

He also highlighted that the government crackdown on organized crime has netted 100 out of 122 of the country's most dangerous criminals.

Read the rest at Insight Crime

Related: Peña Nieto to Visit President Obama After GOP Convention (Bloomberg)

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