In the western states of Michoacán and Guerrero, violent crime – including kidnappings, murders and disappearances – occur mostly between citizens’ self-defense and drug-trafficking groups. In the northern states, bordering the U.S., the violence is dominated by fighting between drug cartels and street gangs.

Mexican federal authorities have associated rising violence with drug trafficking since the beginning of the 20th century – dating back to 1917, when the Mexican Constitution prohibited drugs, with the goal of preventing violence.

And, so, when Mexico’s former President Felipe Calderón first declared a formal war on drugs in 2006, his decision had a long history.

The U.S. government supported this war with a US$3.4 billion military agreement, called the Merida Initiative, that began in 2007 and lapsed in 2021.

The plan’s tactics – including the Mexican military’s targeting and killing of drug cartel leaders – did not quell the rising violence, which continued to spread and intensify over the past 16 years.

Mexico has tried to address this rise in drug cartel activity and crime with different measures, including sending 128,000 Mexican soldiers to fight drug cartels and other criminal groups in Mexico’s streets – a violation of Mexico’s original Constitution that prohibited the use of military for police work within the country. In October 2022, Mexico approved a constitutional reform that allows the military to carry out domestic law enforcement through 2028.

The Mexican government also passed a number of new laws over the past decade to address crime.

One main problem with implementing these laws effectively is widespread corruption across the government, military and justice system. The Mexican military, for example, is tasked with fighting cartels – but soldiers have also been known to sell weapons to them.

In 2008, the Mexican Congress approved a series of constitutional reforms affecting the criminal justice system – these reforms addressed the reality that people often are arrested and convicted for crimes they did not commit. This is partially because Mexico’s old legal system presumed all people put on trial were guilty until proved innocent – the reforms switched this norm to the U.S. model, so people are now considered innocent until proved guilty.

Over 90% murders in Mexico from 2010 to 2016, meanwhile, remain unsolved.

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