Femicides rise 11.7% in Mexico City during first half of 2026

Femicides in Mexico City saw an 11.7% increase during the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP).

In the first six months of 2025, 17 investigations into femicide were opened. This year, that number rose to 19. The borough of Venustiano Carranza registered the highest number of investigations with five cases. Iztacalco and Magdalena Contreras each recorded three cases, followed by Xochimilco with two. Other boroughs like Gustavo A. Madero, Iztapalapa, Álvaro Obregón, Benito Juárez, Tlalpan, and Miguel Hidalgo each had one investigation.

Additionally, from January to June of this year, 50 investigations were opened for attempted femicide. The city's prosecutor, Bertha Alcalde Luján, stated that 23 femicide cases have been registered this year, with 22 already prosecuted, indicating over 95% efficiency. She noted that out of 45 cases in all of 2025, 42 were prosecuted.

Armando Vargas, a researcher at México Evalúa, suggested the rise could be due to either an escalation in the crime itself, meaning more perpetrators are active, or an improved capacity for registering these crimes while the number of aggressors remains stable. He expressed concern that public policy has not shown substantial changes to address femicide effectively. The article also details two specific cases: the murder of 19-year-old Gaeli, found in her home, and the case of nurse Fátima Ozoara, who was found dead after being reported missing.

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That speaks to more than 95% efficiency in the results and the very technical work being done in the investigation by the prosecutor's office and the security cabinet, specifically the secretariat with relevant arrests linked to this crime.