Guacamole might cost a little more the next time you go to Chipotle as the U.S. has suspended all imports of Mexican avocados following a U.S. plant safety inspector being threatened.
Mexico acknowledged the suspension of the goods on Saturday night before the biggest sales opportunity of the year for Mexican avocado growers, the Super Bowl.
The situation is a bit more complicated than it seems, as avocado exports have become the latest victim of drug cartel turf battles and extortion of avocado growers in the western state of Michoacan. The state is the only one in Mexico fully authorized to export to the U.S. market.
In Michoacan, the Jalisco cartel is fighting a turf war against the United Cartels, a collection of local gangs. The violence has threatened avocado growers and exports in the past, hurting the state's most lucrative crop.
Now, all imports of Mexican avocados have been suspended by the U.S. "until further notice," Mexico's Agriculture Department said in a statement, NBC News reported.
"U.S. health authorities ... made the decision after one of their officials, who was carrying out inspections in Uruapan, Michoacan, received a threatening message on his official cellphone," the department's statement said.
When it comes to the avocados sold for the Super Bowl, they had already been exported in the weeks prior.
Avocados have not always been allowed to be exported from Mexico. The U.S. had banned exports of the crop from the country from 1914 to 1997 to prevent a range of diseases and animals from entering U.S. avocado crops.
Because the U.S. also has crops, inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection services work in Mexico to ensure the exported crops don't carry any disease.
Avocado exports from Mexico bring in nearly $3 billion annually, but they will now be banned from being exported in the U.S. for the time being.
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