The United States Department of Agriculture has halted safety inspections of avocados and mangoes in the Mexican state of Michoacan due to security concerns for their staff.
The inspections are halted indefinitely until safeguards are in place and the security issues are resolved.
Reuters reports that a spokesperson with the department said, "Mexican exports from the western state of Michoacan have not been blocked, and avocados and mangos already in transit would not be affected by the suspension of inspections, which would be paused 'until further notice.'"
"The (safety inspection) programs will remain paused until the security situation is reviewed and protocols and safeguards are in place," the USDA spokesperson told Reuters.
A source told the outlet that the suspension was triggered last week due to an incident at a pro-police protest in Paracho. Two inspectors were reportedly held against their will during the demonstration.
In 2022, the U.S. halted the import of avocados from Mexico after a United States Department of Agriculture plant safety inspector in Michoacan was threatened.
“U.S. health authorities ... made the decision after one of their officials, who was carrying out inspections in Uruapan, Michoacan, received a threatening message on his official cellphone,” the department wrote in a statement at the time.
According to a report from the Associated Press at the time, "avocado exports are the latest victim of the drug cartel turf battles and extortion of avocado growers in the western state of Michoacan.""It is not the first time that the violence in Michoacan — where the Jalisco cartel is fighting turf wars against a collection of local gangs known as the United Cartels — has threatened avocados, the state’s most lucrative crop," the report explains. "Many avocado growers in Michoacan say drug gangs threaten them or their family members with kidnapping or death unless they pay protection money, sometimes amounting to thousands of dollars per acre."
Michoacan is the only Mexican state fully authorized to export to the US. Since avocados are also grown in the US, fruits coming across the southern border are strictly inspected to ensure they do not carry diseases that will harm crops in the states.
