MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� U.S. government inspections of avocados and mangoes in the Mexican state of Michoacan will gradually resume, U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar announced Friday, a week after they were suspended over an assault on inspectors.
The U.S. Agriculture Department inspectors 鈥渨ill gradually begin to return to the packing plants following recent aggression against them,鈥� Salazar said in a statement. 鈥淗owever, it is still necessary to advance in guaranteeing their security before reaching full operations.鈥�
鈥淚n fact, more work still needs to be done so that the (agriculture) inspectors are safe and can resume inspections and thereby eliminate the impediments to the trade of avocado and mango to the United States from Michoacan.鈥�
Last weekend, two USDA employees were assaulted and temporarily held by assailants in Michoacan, Salazar said earlier this week. That led the U.S. to suspend inspections in Mexico鈥檚 biggest avocado-producing state.
The employees work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture鈥檚 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Because the United States also grows avocados, U.S. inspectors work in Mexico to ensure exported avocados don鈥檛 carry diseases that could hurt U.S. crops.
Earlier this week, Michoacan Gov. Alfredo Ram铆rez Bedolla said the inspectors had been stopped in a protest by residents of Aranza in western Michoacan on June 14.
He downplayed the situation, suggesting the inspectors were never at risk. He said that he got in touch with the U.S. Embassy the following day and that state forces were providing security for the state鈥檚 avocado producers and packers.
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.
There have also been reports of organized crime bringing avocados grown in other states not approved for export and trying to get them through U.S. inspections.
In February 2022, the U.S. government 鈥渦ntil further notice鈥� after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Michoacan received a threatening message. The halt was lifted after about a week.
Later that year, Jalisco became
The new pause in inspections didn鈥檛 block shipments of Mexican avocados to the United States, because Jalisco is now an exporter and there are a lot of Michoacan avocados already in transit.
Salazar said he was optimistic things were moving in a positive direction, but would not be satisified until the inspectors can work without threats to their safety.
The Associated Press
