Mexico says conspiracy behind avocado ban; US cites violence

By MARK STEVENSON
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president says a U.S. suspension on avocado imports and recent environmental complaints are part of a conspiracy against his country by political or economic interests. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador put forward the conspiracy theory Monday after the U.S. suspended imports of Mexican avocados on the eve of the Super Bowl following a threat against a U.S. plant safety inspector in Mexico. The U.S. measure was due to years of worries that drug cartel violence and threats against growers in the western Mexico state of Michoacan  has spilled over to threats against U.S. inspectors.