How Mexico's lucrative avocado industry found itself smack in the middle of gangland

Thanks to the high prices they command, avocados are sometimes referred to as 'green gold.' Jose Castanares/AFP via Getty Images

To the relief of avocado lovers from coast to coast, the recent drama between the United States and Mexico was fleeting.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture banned imports of the fleshy fruit from Mexico on Feb. 11, 2022, after an employee of its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, who was working in Mexico, received threats after refusing to certify a mislabeled shipment of avocados.