The 2026 World Cup has been a major celebration for all three host countries. But in Mexico, soccer’s biggest tournament has also had an impact in another area.

According to data from Mexico’s Security and Citizen Protection Ministry (SSPC), homicide totals reached some of their lowest levels in recent years during the opening days of the World Cup. On June 11, when Mexico and South Africa played the tournament’s inaugural match, Mexico recorded 30 homicides nationwide. That figure has since been surpassed, with just 27 homicides recorded this week. Both totals are significantly lower than the more than 70 daily homicides reported at the start of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration back in October 2024, El País reported.

The outlet noted that during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Mexico recorded 33,287 homicides, an average of more than 90 cases per day. During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Mexico registered 36,685 homicides, the second-highest annual total in the country’s history, according to the National Institute of Statistics. According to El País, while final figures for 2025 have not yet been released, the decline is expected to be significant, with homicides falling to around 20,000.

On June 16, Mexico’s top security official, Omar García Harfuch, said the country has recorded a 46 percent decline in the daily average of intentional homicides compared with the beginning of Sheinbaum’s administration in October 2024.

“This represents 39 fewer homicides every day. This month of May is the lowest since May 2015,” Harfuch said.

During her June 16 news conference, Sheinbaum attributed the results to her National Security Strategy and the coordinated work of the Security Cabinet, whose members she described as “exceptional public servants” committed to the country.

Sheinbaum also said that during the administration of her predecessor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, from Dec. 1, 2018, through Sept. 30, 2024, authorities arrested 95,019 people, including 39 individuals considered high-value targets. From October 2024 through June 2026, the current administration has arrested 56,134 people, including 57 individuals identified as high-value targets.

Eight states accounted for about 54 percent of all intentional homicides nationwide, according to figures from last month. Guanajuato recorded the highest number of homicides in May 2026, accounting for 8.8 percent of the national total. Baja California (7.8 percent), Sinaloa (6.8 percent), Morelos (5.9 percent) and the State of Mexico (5.9 percent) rounded out the top five.

Originally published on Latin Times