Starting this Saturday, the United States will partially resume official activities and agricultural inspections in some of the main avocado-producing areas of Michoacán, after a security alert caused the temporary suspension of the work of its officials and stopped shipments of the fruit to that country.
The United States ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, reported that operations will gradually return to Tancítaro, Tacámbaro, Uruapan and the corridor between Morelia and Pátzcuaro, after evaluating the commitments assumed by the Government of Mexico and the security measures deployed in the entity.
The suspension had begun during the week, after the US Embassy issued an alert due to a threat against US interests.
The measure affected the inspectors of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), whose work is necessary to verify that products comply with phytosanitary requirements before export.
More than 1,500 security elements protect the region
The partial resumption occurs after the Government of Mexico announced the deployment of 1,557 elements of the Army and the National Guard in avocado areas of Michoacán.
The troops will participate in surveillance tasks, review of packaging centers and protection of communication routes and points where health inspections are carried out, as part of the actions to guarantee the safety of US personnel and producers.
Johnson thanked the cooperation of President Claudia Sheinbaum's government and noted that US authorities will continue to evaluate security conditions to adjust their operations.
The decision, however, does not yet represent a total reopening. The process will be gradual and the United States continues to evaluate conditions in Michoacán before completely normalizing its activities.
The reactivation of inspections opens the door for shipments of Michoacan avocados to once again move towards the United States, the main destination for Mexican exports of the fruit.
According to data cited by the newspaper El Financiero, Mexico exported 501,824 tons of avocado during the first four months of 2026, while the country markets more than one million tons of the product in international markets each year.
The Association of Avocado Producers and Packers of Mexico (APEAM) had indicated that an agreement was reached with US authorities to release more than a thousand tons of avocado destined for export, after the temporary interruption of inspections.
The pause generated concern in a fundamental industry for Michoacán, a state that concentrates an important part of national production and whose production chain depends largely on the US market.
US maintains travel alert
Although agricultural inspections partially return, the United States maintains its travel alert for Michoacán, due to the risks related to violence and the presence of criminal organizations in different areas of the state.
The announcement shows that the reopening of agricultural activities does not imply that the US authorities consider the security situation to be overcome. Instead, Washington will continue to monitor conditions on the ground before moving toward full normalization.
