Mexico experienced a record number of murders for the second year in a row in 2018, with official statistics logging 33% more killings than in 2017, Reuters reports. Mexican authorities opened 33,341 murder investigations in 2018, the highest number ever, the country’s Interior Ministry reported Sunday. The figure outpaced even last year’s toll of over 25,000, which was then the highest number since the record began in 1997. The endemic violence presents a crucial challenge for Mexico’s left-wing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office in December promising to improve security and root out corruption. The bloodshed was also a pivotal campaign issue last year.