U.S. Suspends Mexican Avocado Inspections in Michoacán Over Cartel Security Threats

The United States has suspended all official government operations and mandatory agricultural inspections in Michoacán, halting the primary export pipeline for Mexican avocados to American markets following security threats linked to drug cartel activity.

The decision by the U.S. Embassy citing a “threat to U.S. interests” directly freezes U.S. Department of Agriculture oversight, an essential regulatory requirement before fruit can cross the border. Michoacán represents the heart of Mexico’s avocado industry, supplying roughly 80% of all avocados consumed in the United States and generating $3.65 billion in avocado exports to the U.S. in 2025.

The regulatory freeze follows volatile security conditions after the weekend capture of Alfonso Fernández Magallón, known by the alias “El Poncho.” Fernández Magallón, a leader of a local cartel operating in the avocado-growing region around Los Reyes, had been the target of a $5 million reward offered by the U.S. government.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson welcomed the arrest of Fernández Magallón. However, state security risks related to extortion networks prompted immediate operational precautions.

Michoacán State Security Secretary Antonio Cruz told The Associated Press that while his department was unaware of any direct incidents involving the avocado inspectors, officials deployed 300 security personnel to the Los Reyes area as a preventive measure.

Michoacán Gov. Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla said on social media that the temporary halt to inspections was intended to safeguard workers following recent arrests linked to extortion. The governor stated that the priority is to “ensure the security conditions necessary for these operations to resume normally,” as has occurred during past security disruptions.

The suspension threatens a trade flow that saw avocado exports rise by 35% in the first four months of this year compared to the same period in the previous year. Cultivation of the crop, locally termed “green gold,” generates around 200,000 jobs in Michoacán alone, where at least four cartels—designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration—operate and extort the agricultural sector.

Under trade rules, U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors monitor plantations and packing houses in Mexico to ensure shipments remain free of pests. Similar security threats and violence against inspectors have previously forced the U.S. to suspend inspections in the region.