Crime in Mexico

Crime is among the most urgent concerns facing Mexico, as is the case for many other Latin American countries. Mexican drug trafficking rings play a major role in the flow of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana transiting between Latin America and the United States. Drug trafficking has led to corruption, which has had a deleterious effect on Mexico's democracy. Drug trafficking and organized crime have also been a major source of violent crime in Mexico.

Mexico has experienced increasingly high crime rates, especially in major urban centers. The country's great economic polarization has stimulated criminal activity in the lower socioeconomic strata, which includes the majority of the country's population. Crime continues at high levels, and is repeatedly marked by violence, especially in Mexico City, Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, Nuevo Laredo, and the state of Sinaloa. Other metropolitan areas have lower, yet still serious, levels of crime. Low apprehension and conviction rates contribute to the high crime rate.

The high incidence of crime in Mexico has also poured across the border and influenced crime in the United States, aggravating problems including drugs, illegal immigration, and gangs. To combat this increasing problem, cross-border cooperation has increased between law enforcement agencies in the United States and Mexico in recent years.