These are Mexico’s five new public security laws, and this is what they do
by Alexandra Helfgott.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has accelerated the momentum initiated by her predecessor to overhaul Mexico’s approach to public security. Her administration has pursued a strategic transformation of the country’s security framework. While these laws are framed as tools for enhancing transparency and accountability, critics argue they threaten the rule of law and civil liberties.
This shift began under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), who in 2019 created the National Guard, a civilian force meant to replace military deployments following the 2006 launch of the War on Drugs. AMLO and allies described the Guard as a temporary force crucial to restoring accountability in security efforts. However, the Guard’s role quickly expanded, taking over customs and border control, infrastructure projects like Tren Maya, and migration enforcement. It evolved into a central pillar of Mexico’s security strategy. Just before leaving office, Congress approved a constitutional reform placing the Guard under military control (Sedena), following a failed 2023 attempt blocked by the Supreme Court.
Less than a year into office, Sheinbaum has embraced continuity, introducing over 20 bills in an extraordinary congressional session. Several of these will significantly alter public security policy, sparking concerns about increasing surveillance and militarization.
These are the five new laws and reforms that will fundamentally transform Mexico’s national security approach…
Amid international fallout, a local tragedy
by Madeleine Wattenbarger.
Until last week, Ximena Guzmán Cuevas and José Muñoz were not public figures. Longstanding members of the ruling Morena Party, they both held senior positions in Mexico City’s government. Guzmán worked as Mayor Clara Brugada’s personal secretary; Muñoz as an adviser, coordinating closely with the national government, including on security issues. On Tuesday, May 20, a little after 7 a.m., Guzmán pulled over on a busy stretch of Tlalpan Avenue to pick up her coworker. A gunman fired twelve shots into the car, killing both Ximena and Pepe.
The assassination was timed for maximum visibility: up the road, in the National Palace and in view of the press, Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch informed President Sheinbaum of the events. She announced the news live to the nation.
A week later, information is scarce and the suspects remain at large. At a press conference the day after the murders, Mexico City’s top prosecutor, Bertha Alcalde Luján, and Public Security Secretary Pablo Vázquez Camacho refrained from answering questions about possible motives. The location, timing, and calculated execution suggest a professional hit: the assassins worked in a trio, used gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints, and escaped in a stolen car into the eastern fringes of Mexico State.
