By Lizbeth Diaz and Natalia Siniawski
MEXICO CITY, Aug 6 (Reuters) – Mexico deployed more than 1,500 soldiers and National Guard personnel to the western state of Michoacan on Thursday in an attempt to resume U.S. export inspections suspended a day earlier over safety concerns
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The defense ministry said the deployment of 1,557 troops targets key producing municipalities, with personnel protecting packing facilities, transportation routes, and inspection points from organized crime extortion.
• The U.S. suspended inspections on Wednesday citing safety concerns. U.S. law requires Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors to certify Mexican avocados for export.
• Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government is coordinating a “work plan” with the U.S. Embassy to guarantee inspector safety in areas where the National Guard previously had limited presence.
• “We are looking for this to be a brief suspension so we can recover exports,” Sheinbaum said on Thursday at a daily press conference.
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• Mexico is seeking a meeting with the USDA to discuss the return of U.S. staff or replacing them with inspectors from Mexico’s food safety agency.
• The United States accounts for nearly 90% of Mexico’s avocado exports by volume, making it by far the country’s largest foreign market.
• The security force includes 900 army soldiers and 657 National Guard members.
• Michoacan, Mexico’s top avocado-exporting state, has struggled with violent clashes as criminal groups fight over drug routes, illegal logging, and the extortion of producers.
• Similar security-related suspensions of avocado inspections occurred in 2022 and 2024.
(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz and Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Sarah Morland)
Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.
