US suspends Mexican avocado imports on eve of Super Bowl

By MARK STEVENSON
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. government has suspended imports of Mexican avocados after a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico received a threat. The surprise suspension came on the eve of the Super Bowl, the biggest sales opportunity of the year for Mexican avocado growers. It won’t affect game-day consumption, though. Those avocados were already shipped. The move shows the dangers posed by drug cartel turf battles and the extortion of avocado growers in western Mexico. Because the United States also grows avocados, U.S. inspectors work in Mexico to ensure exported avocados don’t carry diseases that could hurt U.S. crops.