More Than 2,200 Police Officers Killed in Mexico From 2018 to 2023; in Michoacán, the Total is 155

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

In Mexico, more than 2,200 police officers were murdered between 2018 and 2023, with violence particularly prevalent in states such as Michoacán and Guanajuato.

From 2018 to 2023, more than 2,200 police officers were murdered across the country. In Michoacán, there were 155 cases, according to information compiled by 'Causa en Común' in its reports "Being a Police Officer in Mexico" and "Police Murdered in Mexico."

According to reports, during 2019, 446 police officers were murdered in Mexico; 41 of them in Michoacán, which ranked second in the state with the most cases, behind only Guanajuato.

In that year, an average of 1.16 police officers were murdered per day, representing one death every 21 hours.

In 2020, the national death toll rose to 524 police officers, the most violent year on record.

Michoacán with 26 cases

In Michoacán, 26 cases were documented, according to the report "Being a Police Officer in Mexico," keeping the state among the top six nationwide.

In 2021, Causa en Común recorded 401 police officers murdered in the country, with an average of 1.08 victims per day.

The most affected states were Guanajuato with 54; State of Mexico with 47; Zacatecas with 36; Veracruz with 30; and Chihuahua with 27.

In Michoacán, news reports confirmed 20 murders of security officers.

In 2022, violence against police forces continued unabated, with 403 police murders documented, with the same daily average: 1.08 deaths per day.

Michoacán, along with Guerrero and Veracruz, accumulated 24 cases, once again ranking among the states with the highest incidence.

Worrying increase in police murders in Mexico during 2025

As of December of that year, Causa en Común's count had reached 1,818 police murders since December 2018.

During 2023, the number of police murders increased 2 percent compared to the previous year, with 412 victims in total, meaning an average of one police officer was murdered every day.

The most violent states were Guanajuato with 60 cases; Guerrero with 40; Zacatecas with 32; Michoacán with 28 and Jalisco with 24.

With these figures, the total number of uniformed officers murdered in Mexico from December 2018 to December 2023 reached 2,230 cases.

Constant Risk and Absent Justice

The report emphasizes that "in our country, on average, more than one police officer is killed every day" and that most cases "go unnoticed," as they are barely recorded in local news reports and without judicial follow-up.

Impunity, warns Causa en Común, is a constant, as murders are rarely investigated or result in convictions.

In addition to homicidal violence, the document highlights that police officers face precarious working conditions, lack of equipment, and insufficient budgets, which place them in a vulnerable situation in the face of organized crime and armed conflicts in different regions of the country.

In the five years analyzed, from 2018 to 2023, Michoacán recorded 155 police murders, consistently ranking among the most dangerous states for security forces, while Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Guerrero, the State of Mexico, and Veracruz also top the national statistics.

The Causa en Común investigation concludes that police homicides are a direct affront to the state and that "killing a police officer in Mexico is easy, rarely leads to a conclusive investigation, and even less so to judicial consequences."

Source: Contramuro