UPDATE 1-Lower homicide data gives Mexican president relief after violent week

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador got some relief from criticism of his handling of the fight against drug cartels on Monday after data showed that murders had fallen for the third month in a row. Lopez Obrador, a leftist who took office in December, has been on the defensive since drug gunmen rampaged through the northwestern city of Culiacan during a bungled attempt to arrest jailed drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's son.

The president has defended his policy of trying to dial down clashes with drug cartels to reduce murder rates, even after the Sinaloa cartel briefly took control of Culiacan. The homicide data, released on Sunday, offered hope for Lopez Obrador's strategy.

During September, Mexican authorities opened some 2,403 murder investigations, a decline of 7% from the same month in 2018, and the lowest monthly total since April, according to the government figures. The months of July through September were the three most violent in 2018. That could mark what government officials have called an inflection point, even though the number of murders remains on track to surpass last year's record total of 29,000.

Critics say the government's decision to release Ovidio Guzman during the Culiacan violence could encourage other gangs to push back against government forces. One poll released on Monday showed opinion was split over the operation. A survey by newspaper Reforma said 49% disagreed with the release of the younger Guzman versus 45% who backed it.

However, a separate survey by polling firm GCE put the numbers at 54%-34% against letting him go. Both surveyed 400 people. Military police briefly arrested, then released Ovidio Guzman after being surrounded by cartel henchmen who launched attacks on security forces across town, terrifying residents.

Top security officials admitted they mishandled the arrest, but Lopez Obrador defended Guzman's release, and accused the opposition of trying to exploit the chaotic scenes in Culiacan to wage an "irrational campaign" against his government. Had security forces attempted to hold Guzman against the cartel footsoldiers, many people could have been killed, Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference.

"Not just the criminals, who are also human beings, the soldiers, who we must protect," he said, "but (also) civilians." "I always have great belief in the wisdom of the people, and I know that the majority of Mexicans supported the government's decision," the veteran leftist said.

The GCE poll showed that 63.5% of respondents believed drug traffickers were more powerful than the government, more than twice the number of those who took the opposite view. Over three-quarters in the GCE poll believe the release of Guzman would encourage the gangs to continue their operations, while nearly seven out of ten in the Reforma survey said organized crime was strengthened by events.

More than 200,000 people have been killed in the bloodletting since then-President Felipe Calderon sent in armed forces to crack down on drug gangs at the end of 2006.