Introduction and Relevance
The number of deaths among incarcerated individuals in Mexico’s prisons has increased by 11.5% during the first quarter of 2025, making it the period with the highest number of cases since at least 2018, according to data from the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection.
Overall Deaths
Based on penitentiary statistics, there have been 359 prisoner deaths in the first four months of 2025, compared to 322 during the same period in 2024. This represents a 15% increase from 2024.
Between 2018 and 2025, overall deaths have risen by 180%, from 120 to 336 cases. However, when comparing with 2024 (292), there is a 15% increase.
The years 2020-2021, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, saw a significant rise in prison deaths, increasing from 188 to 270 (a 43.6% rise) in the first quarters of those years.
Between 2022 and 2023, there was a decrease, with 311 and 288 cases respectively, representing a 7.4% reduction.
However, in 2024, the death count rose again to 322, a 12% increase from the previous year.
Types of Deaths
The penitentiary statistics bulletin categorizes prisoner deaths into three groups: general deaths, suicides, and homicides.
- General Deaths: These increased by 180% from 2018 to 2025, rising from 120 to 336 cases. Compared to 2024 (292), there’s a 15% increase.
- Suicides: There was a 26.6% rise from 15 to 19 cases between the compared periods. However, in 2024, there was a 29.6% decrease to 27 cases. Sonora reported the only suicide case in April 2024.
- Homicides: The number of homicide cases decreased by 20% from five to four between 2018 and 2025. Yet, in comparison to 2024, there was a 33.3% increase from three to four cases. No homicides were reported in April 2025.
Prisoner Altercations
In terms of altercations, during the first quarter of 2024, there were 176 cases involving 522 individuals, averaging 2.9 prisoners per case.
For 2025, in the same period, there were 124 cases involving 395 prisoners, equating to 3.1 incarcerated individuals per case.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the main concern? The significant rise in prisoner deaths in Mexico’s prisons during the first quarter of 2025, with a 11.5% increase compared to the same period in previous years.
- What types of deaths are being tracked? The statistics cover general deaths, suicides, homicides, and prisoner altercations.
- How have different death categories changed over time? General deaths have increased by 180% from 2018 to 2025, suicides rose by 26.6% before decreasing by 29.6% in 2024, and homicides saw a 20% decrease before increasing by 33.3% in 2024. Prisoner altercations have also shown a slight decrease from 2024 to 2025.
