Fruit boxes with avocados are pictured during harvest at an orchard in the municipality of Uruapan, Michoacan State, Mexico. (Getty Images)
Instead, Mexico was charged with ensuring avocados sent across the border were free of harmful pests, such as seed and stem weevils and seed moths. Weevils are small insects that typically have long snouts, and are notorious for damaging or destroying crops.
The avocado industry is a multibillion business in Mexico, but it is often rocked by crime and exploitation of farmers as cartels work to control the supply chain to help finance their operations, and often exploits farmers through rackets that level fees on avocado growers in exchange for protection from violence, various studies and reports on crime affecting the Mexican lime and avocado industry show.
President Biden's administration is under fire from the avocado industry. (Getty Images)
Former President Bill Clinton established the inspection program to better bolster U.S. farming communities, with the California Avocado Commission and Department of Agriculture reaching an agreement with Mexico in 1997 to allow for Mexican avocados to be exported to the U.S. under the condition that the fruit be inspected. All expenses related to the program's inspections of orchards and packing houses were footed by Mexico, not U.S. taxpayers, according to the commission.
The Biden administration also paused the program in 2022 after an inspector in Mexico's western state of Michoacan received a threat "against him and his family," the USDA said at the time. Two other USDA employees were also reportedly assaulted and temporarily held by suspects in the same Mexican state in June 2024, leading to another pause before Mexico ultimately was charged with conducting inspections in September 2024.
"We know that without the U.S. government present, the likelihood for corruption exists," Melban said of the lack of USDA inspector currently in Mexico. "You can't just show up one day and pretend that your grove has been certified and that you're taking all the measures necessary to keep pests out and free. We also know that there has been fruit brought in from other non-certified groves in the past, and that's part of the problem. That's where we need the USDA to have boots on the ground and make sure that the inspections and the integrity of the inspections are maintained."
"This entire inspection program is funded by Mexico," he added. "It's part of their privilege to come into our U.S. market."
Michoacan has long been a hotbed for cartel activity, with the State Department in September issuing a "Do Not Travel" advisory for the Mexican state due to its high threats of kidnapping and crime, according to the travel advisory. Michoacan and Jalisco are the only two Mexican states authorized to export avocados to the U.S.
Members of the self-defense group Pueblos Unidos carry out guard duties in protection of avocado plantations, whipped by drug cartels that dominate the area, in Ario de Rosales, state of Michoacan, Mexico, on July 8, 2021. (Getty Images)
"We've all heard the stories and see the reporting that the cartel is very prevalent in Michoacan, which is a big growing area and the first state that was ever allowed access to the U.S. And so it only stands to reason that they're going to be involved at some level. And in many instances, they are actually exploiting our pure growers in Mexico too. We're just looking for the safety of the entire program, so the integrity can be maintained to protect our growers' interests here in the U.S.," Melban explained.
The USDA told Fox Digital on Wednesday that the APHIS program continues to inspect fruit entering the U.S. at the border and is comitted to "mitigating plant health risk in a way that does not compromise the safety and security of our employees or the phytosanitary security of the United States."
"USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) understands the vital importance of the avocado industry to the State of California and recognizes the concerns raised by residents. APHIS staff continue to fulfill their inspection responsibilities regarding fruit entering the United States from Mexico. Nearly 30 years of experience administering this program has proved the effectiveness of the avocado program’s system of overlapping safeguards to prevent the entry of invasive pests," a spokesperson said.
"Staffing levels and budget levels for the inspection program remain the same, and our officials continue to conduct inspections in the packing houses, and provide audit oversight of orchard inspections conducted by Mexican Plant Health Authorities. APHIS remains committed to mitigating plant health risk in a way that does not compromise the safety and security of our employees or the phytosanitary security of the United States," the spox continued.
APHIS is slated to continue working with and speaking to U.S. avocado growers, according to the spokesperson, and will keep them "apprised of any future changes to the Mexico program."
"APHIS recognizes that, given the dynamic nature of the avocado industry—including fluctuating high and low seasons in Mexico and California—time is of the essence with many of these decisions. We will work to ensure that U.S. producers continue to safely grow avocados, packinghouses continue to ship healthy fruit from Mexico, and American consumers continue to enjoy this important commodity," the spokesperson said.
Weevils seen in avocados. (California Avocado Commission)
Five Republican California lawmakers wrote a letter to Trump administration Agriculture Secretary Booke Rollins in March sounding the alarm on how the Biden administration ended the program due to the ongoing threats from cartels.
"In late 2024, APHIS, without advance notice, unilaterally removed all USDA inspectors from Mexican avocado orchards because of ongoing physical threats to their safety by Mexican cartels. As a direct result of threats, USDA-inspections were canceled and replaced by Mexican independent review," the letter, spearheaded by Republican California Rep. Darrell Issa, stated.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAS ‘ENRICHED’ AND ‘EMBOLDENED’ THE MEXICAN CARTELS: TOM HOMAN
Workers fumigate avocado trees in an orchard in the municipality of Ario de Rosales, Michoacan State, Mexico. (Getty Images)
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"Congressman Issa has been a real champion for us on this," Melban told Fox Digital of Issa's leadership since the Biden decision in September. "About 30-35% of our total production falls within his district and his district borders Mexico. He understands the threat that's posed here to his constituents and he's working very hard to get this decision overturned."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/love-avocados-biden-admin-caving-mexican-cartels-could-have-devastating-impact-wildly-popular-fruit