Overview

• The USDA ordered an immediate halt to live cattle, bison and horse imports after SENASICA confirmed a new screwworm outbreak in Ixhuatlán de Madero, Veracruz, on July 9.
• The suspension pauses a phased reopening of five southern border ports that began July 7 under a risk-based schedule running through September 15.
• US officials accused Mexican authorities of failing to provide timely, accurate outbreak data, a charge President Sheinbaum called “exaggerated” given existing containment efforts.
• Repeated shutdowns have inflicted over $400 million in losses on Mexico’s livestock sector in 2025, disrupting ranchers and US markets alike.
• Both governments are intensifying binational biosecurity steps, from expanded surveillance and stricter animal-movement controls to new sterile-fly release facilities in Texas and Chiapas.