Mexico says conspiracy behind avocado ban; U.S. cites violence

On Saturday, the U.S. government suspended all imports of Mexican avocados “until further notice” after one of those inspectors in Mexico received a “threatening message”

Mexico’s president said Monday the U.S. suspension on avocado imports and recent environmental complaints are part of a conspiracy against his country by political or economic interests.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador put forward the conspiracy theory after the U.S. suspended imports of Mexican avocados on the eve of the Super Bowl following a threat against a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico.

In fact, the U.S. measure was due to years of worries that drug cartel violence in the western Mexico state of Michoacan — where gangs extort money from avocado and lime growers by threatening to kidnap and kill them — has spilled over to threats against U.S. inspectors.