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The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, announced<\/a> on Friday that inspections of avocados and mangos made by U.S. Agriculture Department workers in Michoac\u00e1n, a state in western Mexico, would \u201cgradually\u201d resume.<\/p>\n It was not immediately clear when that would happen. And Mr. Salazar seemed to suggest that the security concerns that had prompted the suspension<\/a> last weekend had not been fully addressed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is still necessary to advance in guaranteeing their security before reaching full operations,\u201d he said in a statement, referring to the U.S.D.A. inspectors.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico said that two employees of the agency\u2019s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service had been assaulted and detained while traveling in Michoac\u00e1n, where they were surveying avocado orchards and packing plants \u2014 a step needed to make sure that the fruit exported to the United States is free of pests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The embassy confirmed that the employees were later released. But the episode led the U.S. to halt its inspections of avocados and mangos imported from Mexico \u201cuntil the security situation is reviewed and protocols and safeguards are in place,\u201d a U.S.D.A. spokesman told The New York Times.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador of Mexico promised<\/a> to improve safety measures for the inspectors, adding that \u201can agreement is already being sought.\u201d<\/p>\n But he complained that the United States has sometimes been quick to take \u201cunilateral measures,\u201d like the recent suspension. \u201cWe are convincing them to act differently, but it takes time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The move has fueled concern among producers in Michoac\u00e1n, the state responsible for 73 percent of avocado production in Mexico. Jalisco, the other Mexican state allowed to ship the fruit, accounts for 12 percent of production. Together, the two states supply<\/a> about 90 percent of all U.S. avocado imports.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen what measures the authorities are going to take to prevent this from happening again,\u201d Juan Carlos Anaya, director general of an agricultural consulting group in Mexico, said in a radio interview this week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n This is not the first time that the United States has cited security concerns regarding their U.S.D.A. inspectors in Michoac\u00e1n, where criminal groups have sought to infiltrate the avocado industry, a lucrative export market.<\/p>\n Satisfying the increasing U.S. demand for avocados as cartels muscle in has come at a high cost<\/a>: Threats, abductions and killings, as well as widespread deforestation<\/a>, have devastated Michoac\u00e1n.<\/p>\n In 2022, the U.S. temporarily banned<\/a> avocados from Mexico after a plant safety inspector in Michoac\u00e1n received a threatening message. The ban was lifted<\/a> shortly after, allowing exports to resume.<\/p>\n Alfredo Ram\u00edrez Bedolla, the governor of Michoac\u00e1n, also announced<\/a> on Friday the gradual reinstatement of the U.S.D.A. inspectors.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to work to comply and ensure safe conditions in the performance of their work,\u201d he said. \u201cWe hope that there will soon be positive news and that avocado and mango exports, on which Michoac\u00e1n communities and families depend, will be reactivated.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n