MEXICO CITY (CN) - In her Monday morning press conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum blasted the U.S. Department of Agriculture's halt cattle, horse, and bison imports due to Mexico's ongoing problems with screwworm infections.
"Mexico is not anyone's pinata. There is collaboration, there is coordination, but there is not subordination," Sheinbaum said.
Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Julio Berdegue also expressed his disagreement with the ban but held out optimism.
"We do not agree with this measure, but we are confident that in no time, we will be reaching an agreement," he said Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Sheinbaum said her government has been doing everything possible to control the screwworm parasite, which reached 650 animal cases on May 7, an increase of 579 cases since March.
On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the import suspension, which will be reviewed monthly until the screwworm outbreak is significantly contained. The USDA will review the data again in two weeks.
"The protection of our animals and safety of our nation's food supply is a national security issue of the utmost importance. Once we see increased surveillance and eradication efforts, and the positive results of those actions, we remain committed to opening the border for livestock trade. This is not about politics or punishment of Mexico, rather it is about food and animal safety," Rollins said in the statement.
The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association announced its support of the measure in a statement Sunday.
"We commend Secretary Rollins and USDA for making a difficult but necessary decision to close the southern border. While this action presents short-term challenges for cattle raisers, it is a critical step to secure the long-term health of the U.S. cattle herd," the group said.
The Ministry of Health confirmed its second human screwworm infection on May 7. Both human cases are in the southern state of Chiapas.
Screwworms are fly larvae that can destroy livestock populations, costing farmers millions. The maggots burrow into the wounds of infested livestock, feeding as they go like a screw into wood. The flesh-eating parasite can also cause significant harm to humans, including death.
There are no vaccines to control screwworms. Typically, cattle are dipped or sprayed with organophosphorus insecticides that enter infested areas of the animal to kill larvae.
On April 28, Rollins issued a warning to Berdegue about screwworm, asking Berdegue to eliminate restrictions on U.S. Department of Agriculture aircraft that employ a pest control method called the sterile insect technique. This technique utilizes huge amounts of sterilized male flies that are released into the environment to mate with females to produce infertile eggs, leading to a decrease in the population of the parasitic worms.
Rollins also stated her displeasure with high custom import duties levied on critical aviation parts, dispersal equipment and sterile fly shipments.
She warned that if measures weren't taken that same week, Mexican cattle imports would face a ban.
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service temporarily halted livestock imports from Mexico in November after screwworm was detected in Chiapas for the first time in more than 30 years. It lifted the ban in February after Mexico enacted protocols to control the parasite.
Source: Courthouse News Service
