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The United States gets 80-90% of its avocados from Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number one producing area is the state of Michoacan, a beautiful state plagued in recent years by organized crime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the year 2024, 75% of Mexico’s avocados were produced in Michoacan, and 81% of the state’s avocados went to the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The bottom line is, avocados are an important product of Mexico, and especially of Michoacan. But there’s a problem putting that at risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From the Associated Press<\/a>: “The United States announced Wednesday <\/strong>[August 5th] that it had suspended all government operations in the Mexican state of Michoacan because of a ‘threat to U.S. interests,’ including a halt to the inspections of avocados required for their export.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “While the U.S. Embassy did not specify the nature of the threat in its security alert, Michoacan Gov. Alfredo Ram\u00edrez Bedolla said on social media that the temporary halt to inspections was intended to safeguard workers following recent arrests linked to extortion. The inspections are necessary for avocados to be shipped to the United States and their suspension could disrupt exports.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem is the drug cartels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “The western state of Michoacan is the leading exporter of avocados to the U.S. and has a high level of organized crime activity with at least four cartels \u2014 designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration \u2014 operating in the region. Besides trafficking drugs, cartels also make money through extortion, including of the avocado industry.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Notice that the cartels have branched out, they no longer deal only in drugs. In Michoacan they are mixed up in the avocado business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Michoacan State Security Secretary Antonio Cruz told The Associated Press that one of the arrests mentioned by the governor was of ‘El Poncho,’ the alias of Alfonso Fern\u00e1ndez Magall\u00f3n, leader of a local cartel operating in the avocado-growing region around Los Reyes.<\/strong> U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson welcomed the arrest, which came over the weekend. The U.S. government had offered a $5 million reward for Fern\u00e1ndez Magall\u00f3n\u2019s arrest.”<\/strong> According to HSI (Homeland Security Investigations), Poncho<\/a> is “leader of the Los Reyes Cartel, a faction of C\u00e1rteles Unidos, a cartel alliance in Michoac\u00e1n, Mexico”<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Back to the Associated Press article: ” <\/strong>[Michoacan State Security Secretary] Cruz said his department was unaware of any direct incidents involving the avocado inspectors. Nevertheless, 300 security personnel were deployed to the Los Reyes area as a preventive measure.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “The governor [Ramirez Bedolla] said the priority was to ‘ensure the security conditions necessary for these operations to resume normally,’ as has happened in the past.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Mexico supplies approximately 80% of U.S. avocado imports – a product known in the region as ‘green gold.’ Its cultivation generates around 200,000 jobs in Michoac\u00e1n alone.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “In 2025, Mexico sold $3.65 billion worth of avocados to the United States, and in the first four months of this year, those exports rose by 35% compared to the same period in the previous year.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “The U.S. Department of Agriculture sends inspectors in Mexico to monitor plantations and packing houses to ensure that exported produce is free of pests. Threats and violence against the inspectors have caused the U.S. to suspend inspections in the past.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, if this suspension was caused by threats, that has occurred before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mexico exports a large quantity of vegetables to the United States. The Mexican climate is very advantageous for this, as they can be growing vegetables in Mexico when it’s winter in the U.S. Mexico is the biggest producer of avocados … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-19-1024x670.png\")
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