Mexico City, April 22 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Local press and social media have ridiculed statements from Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto saying that organized crime threatens the security of “some areas of the country.”

Peña Nieto made the comments during a pledge ceremony with young Navy cadets. "In some areas of the country, organized crime still threatens our security. In those places the Mexican state has continued strengthening its capacity to reduce violence," Peña Nieto said.

The remarks have been largely criticized by several media and civil organizations, who say that violent crimes, including kidnapping, execution and disappearance have increased exponentially across the country under Peña Nieto's administration.

Early this year, a report by the daily paper Reforma revealed that one kidnapping was reported every five hours, with over two million people have been displaced by violence. Peña Nieto highlighted the recent arrests of drug cartel leaders by security forces are "striking examples" and show the "positive results" of his administration’s policies. However the president avoided mention of events that have come to light recently, including the alleged massacre committed by federal police agents in the municipality of Apatzingan.

Witnesses claim that police killed 16 unarmed people in two separate, but related attacks in January. Last year the Mexican press published a document saying that during the first two years of Peña's government, there have been nearly 60,000 killings related to violence, surpassing the total violent deaths during the same period under his predecessor Felipe Calderon by more than 14,000 deaths. Peña Nieto continues to face a widespread social unrest caused by the disappearance of the Ayotzinapa students, accusations of corruption, as well as high levels of insecurity and decreasing social liberties in the country.