US Restarts Mexican Avocado Checks as Security Measures Increase

Employees work at an avocado packing warehouse in Tacambaro de Codallos, Michoacan state, Mexico on Aug. 6, 2026. Ivan Arias/Reuters

The United States on Thursday fully restarted government activities throughout Mexico’s western state of Michoacan, ending a short suspension of avocado inspections that had raised concerns about shipments to American markets.

Michoacan ranks as Mexico’s top avocado-producing region and a critical source for U.S. buyers. The U.S. government will ‌resume activities after pausing operations earlier this month over security risks. That move threatened to interrupt the flow of the fruit from the area often called the country’s avocado hub.

U.S. Ambassador Ron Johnson thanked Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for steps taken to strengthen security on the ground.

“I recognize the Government of Mexico, particularly its Security Cabinet, for the actions and close coordination that made this full resumption possible efficiently,” he said in a statement Thursday. “We will continue to monitor security conditions and adjust our operations as appropriate.”

The full restart follows a partial return of U.S. activities last week in parts of Michoacan’s avocado belt.

A Michoacan government official suggested the alert may have been necessary due to violence after the arrest of alleged cartel leader Alfonso Fernandez Magallon.

Mexico supplies roughly 80 percent of the avocados imported by the United States. The crop supports approximately 200,000 jobs in Michoacan.

In 2025, Mexico sold $3.65 billion worth of avocados to the United States. Shipments in the first four months of 2026 were up 35 percent from the same period a year earlier. Only Michoacan and Jalisco are authorized to export avocados north. Jalisco’s volume, however, remains far smaller.

The restart restores the inspections needed to maintain fruit transport from the state’s packing houses and orchards.

Protecting Inspectors

Sheinbaum said Mexico was coordinating with the U.S. embassy to protect inspectors and would deploy more than 1,500 soldiers and National Guard members to the state. Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense said the deployment would include 657 National Guard members and 900 Army troops. Those forces were tasked with patrols, escorts around inspection points, and efforts to deter extortion aimed at producers.

At least four cartels designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration operate in Michoacan.

Reuters contributed to this report.