US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar shakes hands with Michoacan state Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla during their joint news conference at the governor's office in Morelia, Mexico. (Picture Credit : AP)
MORELIA: United States Ambassador Ken Salazar praised
Mexico
's effort protect American
agricultural inspectors
in the conflict-ridden state of
Michoacan
on Monday, a week after the US suspended avocado and mango inspections following an attack on inspectors.
Salazar traveled to the state, plagued by violence linked to organized crime, to meet with state and federal officials.
Earlier this month, two employees of the US Agriculture Department were assaulted and temporarily held by assailants in Mexico's biggest avocado-producing state, prompting the US government to suspend inspections.
The diplomat told the press that last Friday that Michoacan authorities had agreed to a security plan to restart avocado exports. "We are going to continue working on this," he added.
The US said that inspections in Michoacan would resume gradually.
Mexico played down the attacks, but President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador agreed to work with the United States to guarantee the safety of inspectors.
Many avocado growers in Michoacan say drug gangs threaten them or their family members with kidnapping or death unless they pay protection money, sometimes amounting to thousands of dollars per acre.
There have also been reports of criminal groups trying to sneak avocados grown in other states that are not approved for export through US inspections.
In February 2022, the US government suspended inspections of Mexican avocados for about a week after a US plant safety inspector in Michoacan received a threatening message.
Later that year, Jalisco became the second Mexican state authorized to export avocados to the US
The latest pause won't stop Michoacan avocados that are already in transit from reaching the US.
English (US) ·