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The United States government decided to stop importing Mexican avocados “until further notice” after one of its security inspectors in Mexico received a threat. The announcement was made on the eve of the day with the highest consumption of Mexican avocados in the year: the Super Bowl.
The United States government suspended all imports of Mexican avocados after one of its security inspectors in that country received a threat.
The surprise temporary suspension was confirmed on Saturday night on the eve of the Super Bowl, the biggest sales opportunity of the year for Mexican avocado growers, although it did not affect game day consumption, as those avocados had already been shipped.
This agricultural activity is the latest victim of the drug cartels’ turf battles in the western state of Michoacán, the only one in Mexico fully authorized to export to the US market.
The suspension will apply “until further notice,” the Mexican Department of Agriculture warned in a statement. “The health authorities (…) made the decision after one of his officials, who carried out inspections in Uruapan, Michoacán, received a threatening message on his official cell phone.”
Facilitating the export of Mexican avocados to 🇺🇸 and ensuring the safety of our agricultural inspection teams go hand in hand. We are working with @GobiernoMX to guarantee security conditions that allow our personnel in #Michoacan resume operations
— US Embassy in Mex (@USEmbassyMEX) February 14, 2022
Because the United States also grows avocados, US inspectors work in Mexico to ensure that the exported product does not carry diseases that could harm US crops.
Days before the ban was announced, the Mexican association of avocado growers and packers had officially submitted its ad for this year’s Super Bowl. Mexican exporters have used the expensive ads for nearly a decade in an attempt to associate guacamole as a Super Bowl tradition.
The ban affects an industry with nearly $3 billion in annual exports.
The avocado, the new point of contention between cartels
It is not the first time that violence in Michoacán, where the Jalisco cartel is waging turf wars against a group of local gangs known as the United Cartels, has threatened avocados, the state’s most lucrative crop.
Following a previous incident in 2019, the Department of Agriculture had already warned of the possible consequences of attacking or threatening US inspectors.
In August 2019, a team of inspectors from that entity was “directly threatened” in Ziracuaretiro, a town west of Uruapan. While the agency did not specify what happened, local authorities say a gang stole the truck the inspectors were traveling in.
The USDA wrote in a letter at the time that “for future situations that result in a security breach or demonstrate an imminent physical threat to the well-being of staff, we will immediately suspend program activities.”
Many avocado growers in Michoacán say drug gangs threaten them or their relatives with kidnapping or death unless they pay protection money, sometimes running into thousands of dollars per hectare.
with AP