US President Donald Trump has stepped up his criticism of the safety state of affairs in Washington, DC, now claiming that the US capital has a murder rate higher than some Latin American capitals resembling Bogotá, Mexico City and Lima.
During a press convention on Monday, Trump introduced that he would place the Metropolitan Police Department “under direct federal control” and deploy 800 National Guard troops in an effort to “take back the city.”
“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,” Trump stated.
Trump stated the transfer to “liberate” Washington was a part of a broader initiative to “take back control” of cities he stated have been threatened by violence.
“All is double or triple, so you want to live in places like that? I don’t think so,” the president stated, referring to the proven fact that Washington surpasses Latin American cities like Brasilia, Panama City, and San José in murder charges.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser known as Trump’s resolution to put the Metropolitan Police Department below federal management and deploy the National Guard “alarming and unprecedented.” While she stated she wasn’t solely shocked, she warned in a press convention that she wouldn’t “minimize the intrusion on the autonomy” of the metropolis.
Bowser additionally assured residents that the native authorities continues to function “in a way that makes citizens proud” and has since met with Attorney General Pam Bondi, who, in accordance with the government order, may have the authority delegated by Trump to coordinate actions with the metropolis. The mayor additionally clarified that “nothing has changed” in the Metropolitan Police Department’s organizational chart.
Trump based mostly his statements on a graph equivalent to 2024, which exhibits a murder rate of 27.5 per 100,000 inhabitants in Washington, a determine that – in accordance with him – would place it above Bogotá, Colombia (15), Panama City, Panama (15), San José, Costa Rica (13), Mexico City, Mexico (10), Lima, Peru (7.7), and Brasilia, Brazil (6.8).
Official statistics for all these cities, obtained from organizations resembling Mexico’s INEGI, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Panama, and the goverment of the capital of Brazil, Brasilia, amongst others, appear to substantiate Trump’s assertion: Washington did surpass a number of Latin American capitals in the murder rate per 100,000 inhabitants in recent times, though this is solely certainly one of many different crime charges.
However, the most up-to-date official information mirror a extra nuanced image.
According to an evaluation by NCS journalist Daniel Dale, crime in Washington has declined considerably since a spike in 2023, when 274 homicides have been recorded, the highest quantity in additional than 20 years.
In 2024, murders dropped to 187, and up to now in 2025, they proceed to say no. Data from crime professional Jeff Asher, cited by Dale, signifies that homicides in Washington fell 34% in contrast with 2023 by July of this yr. Furthermore, the violent crime rate in 2024 was the second lowest since 1966.
A preliminary evaluation by the Washington Metropolitan Police Department confirms this pattern: Overall crime has additionally decreased up to now in 2025, according to the sustained decline seen in different main US cities, resembling New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.