Overview
- The USDA plans roughly 100 million sterile-fly releases per week across Mexico as part of its response to the gusano barrenador infestation.
- The Tampico, Tamaulipas location enables aerial dispersal into the northeast, including Nuevo León, which officials describe as a strategic expansion of coverage.
- U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins said stopping the pest’s spread is a top priority for the Trump administration following meetings with President Claudia Sheinbaum and Mexican officials.
- The sterile insect technique uses mass-reared, non-replicating insects to disrupt reproduction, with Mexican authorities sharing images of sterile Cochliomyia hominivorax flies bred by the Panama–U.S. COPEG program.
- SENASICA reported 808 active cases across 10 states as of November 8, and U.S. officials say the Tampico hub increases flexibility after prior aerial operations were largely limited to southern Mexico.