The United States announced that it had suspended all government operations in the Mexican state of Michoacan because of a threat to US interests, including a halt to the inspections of avocados required for their export.
Background
Michoacan Gov. Alfredo Ramírez 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.
The western state of Michoacan is the leading exporter of avocados to the US and has a high level of organized crime activity with at least four cartels operating in the region. Besides trafficking drugs, cartels also make money through extortion, including of the avocado industry.
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson welcomed the arrest of Alfonso Fernández Magallón, leader of a local cartel operating in the avocado-growing region around Los Reyes. The US government had offered a $5 million reward for Fernández Magallón’s arrest.
Mexico supplies approximately 80% of US avocado imports – a product known in the region as “green gold.” Its cultivation generates around 200,000 jobs in Michoacán alone.
Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
