"When Americans buy Mexican avocados, some of those dollars are siphoned off by cartels, which President Trump has now called ’the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere' through extortion, making Americans unknowingly financiers of the very terrorist organizations President Trump is fighting"
Fullerton, Calif. — President Donald Trump put Mexican cartels on notice before the world Tuesday, telling the United Nations General Assembly that the cartels are “the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere” and “enemies at war with civilization” that use “murder, rape, torture, and extortion as instruments of terror," calling Mexico “the epicenter of the cartel violence.”
Fox News quickly highlighted the remarks on X, posting Trump’s warning that “The cartels are the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere.”
Trump’s remarks come as the California Avocado Commission continues to warn about the intersection of cartel influence in Mexico’s avocado sector and rapidly increasing Mexican avocado shipments into the United States during California’s harvest season.
“When Americans buy Mexican avocados, some of those dollars are siphoned off by cartels, which President Trump has now called ’the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere' through extortion, making Americans unknowingly financiers of the very terrorist organizations President Trump is fighting,” said California Avocado Commission President, Ken Melban. "At the same time, Mexican avocado imports are surging during California’s harvest and putting American family farms under extraordinary pressure and underminding President Trump's stance."
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has documented that Mexican cartels “exploit otherwise legitimate commerce” and that criminal extortion is particularly rampant in Michoacán’s agricultural economy. Treasury says cartels routinely extort farmers, packers, and others involved in harvesting and exporting avocados. It specifically identified Los Viagras as extorting avocado and a Carteles Unidos regional leader as being involved in avocado-related extortion. Treasury also said Michoacán-based cartels seize land and engage in illegal agricultural production as they diversify their revenue streams.
“An America First food policy should put American farmers first. CAC is calling for a seasonal tariff-rate quota so California growers have a fighting chance when their fruit is in the market,” Melban said. "President Trump has said American farmers are essential to Make America Healthy Again and has pledged to put American farmers and families first. We shouldn’t be importing market-disrupting volumes from a supply chain infiltrated by cartels while putting American growers out of business. MAHA starts with keeping American farmers farming.”
Meanwhile, Mexican avocado exports to the United States surged 35% during the first four months of 2026, according to the California Avocado Commission. CAC said the increase intensified price pressure during California’s harvest season and renewed its call for a seasonal tariff-rate quota through the ongoing United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement review.
CAC’s proposed seasonal TRQ would apply during California’s March-through-September harvest season. The commission says the proposal is intended to allow continued avocado trade with Mexico while creating a safeguard against market-disrupting oversupply when California-grown fruit is being harvested and sold.
Learn more about the California Avocado Commission’s call to put American farmers first through a seasonal tariff-rate quota: CaliforniaAvocado.com/TRQ
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