U.S. Department of Agriculture

So what?  Sterile-fly output running at a small fraction of the weekly rate officials say containment requires is the kind of capacity gap that turns a projected timeline into a standing one, so expect the screwworm line to keep drifting rather than receding even as Washington moves toward reopening. Proceeding with the Douglas reopening on schedule despite Chihuahua's own admission suggests USDA is treating the risk as regionally containable; a new detection closer to Sonora before August 24 would be the clearest signal that read is wrong.

So what?  Mexico moving over 1,500 troops within a day of the suspension, rather than just protesting it, shows Sheinbaum treating the avocado trade as too economically important to risk a prolonged standoff — expect a resumption push within days once the deployment demonstrates inspector safety, echoing the roughly week-long 2022 pause. But a state government unable to guarantee inspector safety without a dedicated troop surge shows how easily cartel extortion pressure can still reach agricultural-inspection infrastructure, keeping future U.S. import certification exposed to the same leverage.