Are we about to see a disruption of the avocado supply chain? It's possible.
Violent criminal drug cartels are connected with much that goes on in our neighbor to the south, Mexico — and that includes the highly lucrative market for avocados in the United States.
At least four drug cartels — designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration — operate in the region, profiting not only from narcotics trafficking but also from extortion schemes targeting the lucrative avocado industry.
Security threat shuts down avocado pipeline from Mexico to the US https://t.co/zrY4Kn4q3a pic.twitter.com/XGGYFTgr0r
— New York Post (@nypost) August 6, 2026
Every year, we just can't get enough of the vibrant green fruit:
Americans’ avocado obsession depends heavily on Mexico. The US imported a record 2.87 billion pounds of fresh avocados last year, about 83% of them from Mexico. While California produces about 90% of the nation’s homegrown avocados, its crop isn’t nearly large enough to satisfy the country’s appetite.
...
Mexico exported about $3.65 billion worth of avocados to the United States in 2025, and shipments during the first four months of 2026 climbed roughly 35% compared with the same period a year earlier.
But the flow of the luscious avocado across the border is — at least temporarily — pausing as a precaution:
The US Embassy announced Wednesday all US government operations in Michoacán had been suspended because of what it described as a “threat to US interests.”
The move includes a pause on the federal inspections required before Mexican avocados can be exported to the United States.
Under normal conditions, the Agriculture Department (USDA) checks over the avocado trees and the conditions where the produce is packed in Mexico before it is allowed to enter the U.S.
The halt is happening because of a new violent act by the drug cartels, the Mexican state's governor explains:
Michoacán Gov. Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla said the inspections were temporarily halted to protect personnel following recent arrests tied to an extortion investigation.
The governor said officials’ priority was to “ensure the security conditions necessary for these operations to resume normally,” noting similar suspensions have occurred before.
As Chef Andrew Gruel points out, avocados taste better when they aren't helping to fund cartel violence:
This is where most of our avocado imports come from. Our guacamole tastes better when it doesn’t come with cartel baggage - This is the Security Alert: U.S. Government Suspends Activities in Michoacan - U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico https://t.co/mCvcXB855C
— Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel) August 5, 2026
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