Cargo theft in Mexico is continuing its downward trend, but for the country’s trucking industry, the biggest concern is no longer the number of robberies—it’s how violent they have become.
New figures from Mexico’s Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP) show that authorities opened 2,099 cargo theft investigations between January and May 2026, down 21 per cent from the 2,653 cases recorded during the same period last year. It is one of the lowest totals seen in recent years and continues a steady decline that has been underway since 2019.
Despite that progress, trucking leaders say the situation on the country’s highways remains deeply worrying.
“Security remains the biggest issue for the trucking industry,” said Norberto Limón, Canacar’s delegate in Veracruz. “Robberies have decreased by 17%, but violence has increased, and that’s what we cannot allow.”
According to the National Freight Chamber of Commerce (Canacar), at least 14 truck drivers have been killed in highway attacks since the start of 2026. The organization says criminal groups are increasingly resorting to firearms, opening fire on trucks to force them to stop instead of waiting for drivers to pull over.
For Canacar President Augusto Ramos Melo, the issue is no longer simply how many cargo thefts occur, but how dangerous they have become for drivers.
Speaking during a review of the organization’s first 100 days under its new leadership, Ramos noted that nearly 13,000 violent cargo robberies were reported between January and May, compared with fewer than 1,000 non-violent incidents. Although overall robberies fell by 16 per cent from a year earlier, he said the level of violence remains unacceptable.
Canacar represents approximately 250,000 transportation companies and estimates that the trucking industry moves about 80 per cent of Mexico’s domestic and export freight.
Some freight corridors continue to be particularly dangerous despite the national decline in cargo theft.
The State of Mexico remains the country’s main hotspot, accounting for 1,074 cargo theft investigations during the first five months of the year. Authorities have also identified the Mexico-Pachuca Highway, the Circuito Exterior Mexiquense and the surrounding routes through Tecámac, Ecatepec and Tizayuca as among the highest-risk areas for freight transport.
Limón said the stretch between Cumbres de Maltrata and Esperanza along the Veracruz-Puebla corridor remains the most dangerous section of highway in the country.
Around 70 per cent of cargo arriving through the Port of Veracruz is transported toward central Mexico, meaning thousands of trucks travel through this corridor every day. According to Canacar, more than half of all cargo robberies occur along this route, with drivers particularly exposed when stopping for fuel, meals or rest breaks.
In Guanajuato, another major manufacturing and logistics centre, cargo theft has declined by around seven per cent over the past year. However, regional Canacar Vice President Jaime García Almanza said attacks have become significantly more violent, with more than 15 truck drivers reportedly killed during highway robberies in the state during the first half of 2026. He said criminals are increasingly using assault rifles and firing at trucks immediately to force them to stop.
To address the growing threat, President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government plans to strengthen highway security by expanding the National Guard’s role in enforcing safety along key freight routes.
Canacar is also working with the National Guard to increase security convoys, improve coordination between regional commands and expand the number of secure truck parking facilities available along major transport corridors.
While the industry welcomes those initiatives, leaders say meaningful progress will require sustained enforcement and stronger action against organized criminal networks.
“An operator cannot be a statistic,” Limón said. “He is a father, a son, a husband—someone who has to return home. Until that happens, we still have a debt as a country.”
