The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced this Thursday a plan to reinforce security in the producing areas of Michoacán and open a dialogue table with the United States to resume "as soon as possible" avocado exports, suspended after the withdrawal of US inspectors due to a security alert.
During her morning press conference, the president pointed out that after meeting with Mexican avocado growers, she began a work plan to “further guarantee security” in Michoacán, in addition to raising the possibility to the US that, “in the last case”, US inspectors will be temporarily replaced by Mexican personnel.
“We hope that it will resume very soon (…) there is a very good action plan,” he stated.
Sheinbaum explained that the federal government requested, through the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Velasco; of the Secretary of Security, Omar García Harfuch, and the Secretary of Agriculture (Sader), a meeting with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reactivate inspections.
“The United States Embassy was asked to meet with the Department of Agriculture as soon as possible (…) so that this work could be returned or, in the last resort, replaced with inspectors from Senasica (National Agri-Food Health, Safety and Quality Service), which is also a possibility,” he stated.
The president pointed out that the plan also contemplates reinforcing the presence of the National Guard in other avocado-growing areas of Michoacán.
“There have also been several very important arrests, but there is another important area where they ask us to also have a presence of the (National) Guard, so we are going to send a presence,” he indicated.
Sheinbaum hoped that the suspension would have a limited duration and ruled out large-scale economic impacts if inspections resumed soon.
"If it is for a short time, then it will not have a relevant impact (...) there is a very good action plan, so we believe that it will be accepted and that all activity will be recovered very soon," he said.
The temporary suspension of the activities of United States agricultural personnel in Michoacán stopped certifications and shipments of avocado to that country since Wednesday, after the US Embassy issued an alert due to a "threat against interests" of the United States.
The measure affects the inspectors of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), responsible for verifying compliance with phytosanitary requirements in packaging authorized to export avocado from Michoacán, the main producing state of the fruit in Mexico.
The State Department maintains Michoacán at its level 4 travel alert, “do not travel,” due to terrorism and crime, and restricts the movement of US Government employees through that state.
The Association of Avocado Producers and Packers Exporters of Mexico (Apeam) reported that only the fruit received before the suspension can be processed, while new shipments destined for the US market remain stopped.
According to Sader data, Mexico exports more than one million tons of avocado per year and in the first quarter of 2026 alone, 501,824 tons of the fruit had already been exported.
It is not the first time that Washington has interrupted inspections for security reasons.
In February 2022, it temporarily suspended certifications after threats against an inspector in Uruapan and, in June 2024, it stopped them again after two USDA employees were attacked and detained while performing official duties.
In both cases, inspections resumed days later after strengthening security protocols for US personnel. EFE
