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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Thursday a plan to strengthen security in the producing areas of Michoacan and to open a dialogue with the United States to resume avocado exports "as soon as possible," which were suspended following the withdrawal of U.S. inspectors due to a security alert.
During her morning press conference, the president noted that after meeting with Mexican avocado growers, she began a work plan to "guarantee even more security" in Michoacan, adding that she will propose to the U.S. the possibility that, "in the last resort," U.S. inspectors could be temporarily replaced by Mexican personnel.
"We hope that it will resume very soon (...) there is a very good action plan," she stated.
Sheinbaum explained that the federal government requested, through Secretary of Foreign Affairs Roberto Velasco, Secretary of Security Omar Garcia Harfuch, and the Secretariat of Agriculture (Sader), a meeting with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reactivate inspections.
"The United States Embassy was asked that we meet as soon as possible with the Department of Agriculture (...) so that they can return to this work or, in the last resort, replace it with inspectors from Senasica (National Service for Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety and Quality), which is also a possibility," she stated.
The president noted that the plan also includes strengthening the presence of the National Guard in other avocado-producing areas of Michoacan.
"There have also been several very important arrests, but there is another important area where they are asking us to also have a presence of the (National) Guard, so we are going to send a presence," she indicated.
Sheinbaum expressed confidence that the suspension will be of limited duration and ruled out major economic repercussions if inspections resume shortly.
"If it is for a short time, it will not have a significant impact (...) there is a very good action plan, so we believe it will be accepted and that all activity will be recovered very soon," she maintained.
The temporary suspension of U.S. agricultural personnel's activities in Michoacan halted certifications and shipments of avocados to that country on Wednesday, after the U.S. Embassy issued an alert regarding a "threat to U.S. interests."
The measure affects inspectors from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), who are responsible for verifying compliance with phytosanitary requirements at packing plants authorized to export avocados from Michoacan, the main avocado-producing state in Mexico.
The State Department maintains Michoacan at its Level 4 travel advisory, "do not travel," due to terrorism and crime, and restricts the travel of U.S. government employees through that state.
The Association of Producers and Exporting Packers of Avocados of Mexico (Apeam) reported that only fruit received before the suspension could be processed, while new shipments destined for the U.S. market remain detained.
According to data from Sader, Mexico exports more than one million tons of avocados per year, and in the first four months of 2026 alone, 501,824 tons of the fruit had already been exported.
This is not the first time Washington has interrupted inspections for security reasons.
In February 2022, it temporarily suspended certifications following threats against an inspector in Uruapan, and in June 2024, it halted them again after two USDA employees were assaulted and detained while performing official duties.
In both cases, inspections resumed days later after security protocols for U.S. personnel were reinforced.
[Publicidad]