Overview
- U.S. officials halted on-site USDA phytosanitary inspections in Michoacán on Wednesday after a security alert that the U.S. described as a threat to American interests, stopping certification needed for new avocado exports to the United States.
- Michoacán authorities linked the pause to recent arrests in an extortion probe that included the capture of alleged local cartel leader Alfonso Fernández Magallón, a development that state and U.S. officials said raised safety concerns for inspectors.
- Mexico deployed roughly 1,500 soldiers and National Guard personnel to key avocado-producing municipalities and is coordinating with the U.S. Embassy to protect inspectors and restore inspection operations.
- Industry groups say existing inventories and product already in transit should meet near-term U.S. demand, but they warn a longer suspension would choke shipments, strain growers who pay extortion fees and likely push up U.S. consumer prices.
- Michoacán supplies the vast majority of U.S. avocado imports and has seen similar short suspensions in 2022 and 2024 after threats or attacks on inspectors, a pattern that highlights how cartel extortion repeatedly creates trade and safety vulnerabilities.