On August 11, 2025, President Donald Trump made headlines yet again—this time by declaring a federal takeover of policing in Washington, DC, and deploying 800 National Guard troops to the city. Trump’s stated justification? He claimed that the capital’s murder rate had soared past those of several Latin American cities often stereotyped as more dangerous, including Bogotá, Mexico City, and Lima. The move, which Trump described as an effort to “take back the city,” has sparked fierce debate both in the United States and abroad, raising questions about crime statistics, political autonomy, and the realities behind the numbers.
During a press conference announcing the decision, Trump pulled no punches. “The murder rate in Washington today is higher than that of Bogotá, Colombia; Mexico City, or some of the places that you hear about as being the worst places on Earth. It’s much higher,” he said, referencing a 2024 homicide rate of 27.5 per 100,000 inhabitants for Washington DC. Trump went further, suggesting that Washington’s rate was double or triple that of other Latin American capitals, and he specifically named cities like Brasilia, Panama City, and San José. “All is double or triple, so you want to live in places like that? I don’t think so,” he added.
Trump’s rhetoric drew swift reactions from both sides of the border. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, for her part, did not dispute the comparison between Washington and Mexico City. “He said something like ‘Washington is more unsafe than Mexico City,’ which is true,” Sheinbaum said on Tuesday, according to The Guardian. However, she took issue with Trump’s broader characterization, clarifying, “What we don’t agree with is when he said that it’s the most unsafe city in Latin America.”
Numbers from official sources seem to back up the narrower point. In 2024, Washington DC’s homicide rate was indeed 27.5 per 100,000 residents, compared to Mexico City’s 10 per 100,000, Bogotá’s 15.2, and Lima’s 7.7, as reported by CNN and corroborated by government data from each city. Panama City and San José reported homicide rates of 15 and 13 per 100,000, respectively, while Brasilia’s was even lower at 6.8. In short, Trump’s claim that Washington’s murder rate surpassed those of several large Latin American capitals held up under scrutiny—at least for this particular metric.
Yet, as with most things in politics, the story is more nuanced than a single statistic. For one, while Washington DC’s homicide rate remains high, it is part of a broader trend of declining violence. According to the US Department of Justice and analyses by crime experts cited by CNN, violent crime in Washington DC dropped 35% from 2023 to 2024, reaching its lowest point in over 30 years. Homicides, which spiked to 274 in 2023 (the highest in more than two decades), fell to 187 in 2024—a 34% decrease through July 2025 compared with the same period the previous year. The city’s 2024 violent crime rate was the second lowest since 1966. Overall crime has continued to decline in 2025, mirroring similar downward trends in other major US cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Still, the perception of Washington as a city in crisis lingers, fueled in part by political rhetoric and media coverage. Trump’s decision to place the Metropolitan Police Department under direct federal control was met with alarm by local officials. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called the move “alarming and unprecedented,” emphasizing, “I will not minimize the intrusion on the autonomy of our city.” Bowser assured residents that the local government “continues to operate in a way that makes citizens proud,” and clarified that “nothing has changed” in the Metropolitan Police Department’s organizational chart. According to the executive order, Attorney General Pam Bondi has been delegated authority to coordinate federal actions with the city.
South of the border, the conversation has taken a different turn. Mexico City’s mayor, Clara Brugada, was quick to seize on the moment to correct misconceptions about her city. “Mexico City has a third of the homicides that Washington has,” Brugada said. “It’s very important to clarify this because otherwise it could be misinterpreted, and people could think that Mexico City has one of the highest homicide rates in the Americas, and that’s just not true.”
Despite its relatively low homicide rate, Mexico City faces its own challenges. In 2024, the city reported nearly 1,300 missing or disappeared people—some of whom may be murder victims whose bodies were never found. According to security analyst Eduardo Guerrero, Mexico City is unique in Mexico for its large, centralized police force, lower rates of extortion by organized crime, and state monitoring over taxi fleets. The city also benefits from greater access to professional training and education. “Mexico City is a kind of island of tranquility when we compare it with the rest of the country,” Guerrero told The Guardian. By contrast, the neighboring State of Mexico recorded a homicide rate of 19 per 100,000—nearly double that of the capital—while Mexico as a whole had a staggering rate of 24 per 100,000 in 2023, more than six times higher than the US national average.
These comparisons highlight a shifting landscape in urban safety. For decades, cities like Bogotá and Mexico City were synonymous with crime and violence in the American imagination, while US capitals were seen as safer havens. But as the numbers now show, some Latin American metropolises have made significant strides in reducing violence, while certain US cities have struggled with spikes in homicides. According to The Guardian, there are at least 49 cities worldwide with higher homicide rates than Washington DC, challenging the notion that the US capital is uniquely dangerous.
Of course, statistics only tell part of the story. The lived reality of crime is shaped by factors ranging from policing strategies and social services to economic opportunities and the presence of organized crime. While Washington’s murder rate is undeniably high, the city’s rapid progress in reducing violent crime is a testament to ongoing efforts by local officials and law enforcement. At the same time, the situation in Mexico City and other Latin American capitals shows that effective policy and community engagement can yield dramatic improvements in public safety.
Trump’s dramatic intervention in Washington DC has reignited debate over federal and local control, the use of crime statistics in political rhetoric, and the evolving geography of urban violence. As both critics and supporters weigh in, one thing is clear: the numbers matter, but so do the stories behind them. The conversation about safety, autonomy, and the future of America’s cities is far from over.