Roughly a quarter of the more than 200 Mexicans living in Ukraine requested help to return home

by Mexico News Daily

The Mexican Air Force will fly to Romania to pick up Mexicans who have fled Ukraine and wish to return to Mexico, Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced Friday.

He said on Twitter that President López Obrador had ordered a special flight to transport families who are being evacuated from Ukraine and wish to be repatriated.

“I am grateful for the support of [Defense] Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval,” added Ebrard, who said Thursday that Mexico “vigorously” condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A group of 22 Mexicans left the western Ukraine city of Ivano-Frankivsk on Friday to travel 190 kilometers south to the Romanian city of Siret.

“Guillermo Ordorica, our ambassador in Romania, tells me he’s already in Siret, on the border with Ukraine, to wait for and support the first 22 Mexicans who will arrive with the support of the protection protocol organized in conjunction with Olga García Guillén, [Mexican] ambassador in Ukraine,” Ebrard said on Twitter late Friday morning.

The foreign minister later posted a video showing Odorica thanking Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă for his support.

Romania’s ambassador to Mexico said on Twitter that Mexicans will always be welcome in Romania.

“The Romanian government is working to welcome people of all nationalities who are fleeing this unjust and immoral war,” Mariuz Lazurca wrote.

In another Twitter post, Ebrard said that Ambassador García had informed him that she and other diplomatic staff were unable to enter the Mexican Embassy in Kyiv because there was an explosion in an adjoining building.

He said she was working from her residence and acknowledged her “extraordinary courage” in continuing to provide assistance to Mexicans in the country.

A 36-year-old Tamaulipas man who lives in Kyiv with his wife told the newspaper El País they were having trouble getting out of the Ukrainian capital.

“We’ve been trying to leave Kyiv for days, my wife is six months pregnant,” Alex Ricalday said Wednesday. “… [But] there are no train tickets, we can’t find flights on any airline. … We thought we would have more time,” he said.

Ricalday said he finally managed to reserve a rental car and planned to drive to Lviv before crossing the border to Poland.

A 41-year-old Chihuahua woman told El País that she was hunkering down in Kyiv with her husband and nine-year-old step-son, who don’t have travel documents to leave the country.

“For me this is something completely new,” Ivette Rossano said. “I’m Mexican and although we have some conflicts with the cartels I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid.”

More than 200 Mexicans who live in Ukraine registered their details with the Mexican Embassy, and at least 50 requested assistance to leave the country.

In addition to Romania and Poland, people fleeing Ukraine are also heading to Hungary and Slovakia. All four countries belong to the North American Treaty Organization, or NATO, and their security is thus guaranteed by the other member nations.

With reports from Sin Embargo, El Universal and El País

Ambassador thanked Mexico for its ‘rapid response and cooperation’ in establishing new security measures

by Mexico News Daily

Avocado exports to the United States have resumed a week after the U.S. government temporarily suspended imports in light of a threatening phone call received by a Michoacán-based U.S. inspector.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced Friday that its avocado inspection program in Michoacán had restarted and that avocado exports to the United States had resumed.

“APHIS, working closely with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico’s regional security officer, Mexico’s national plant protection organization, and the Association of Avocado Producers and Packers Exporters of Mexico (APEAM), have enacted additional measures that enhance safety for APHIS’ inspectors working in the field, following a threat made to an employee on February 11,” it said in a statement.

“The safety of USDA employees simply doing their jobs is of paramount importance. USDA is appreciative of the positive, collaborative relationship between the United States and Mexico that made resolution of this issue possible in a timely manner.”

The newspaper Milenio reported Friday that the U.S. government was considering a proposal to have 90 U.S. government avocado inspectors protected by state and federal security forces in 63 Michoacán municipalities where the fruit is grown. It was unclear whether U.S. authorities accepted the offer.

Ambassador Ken Salazar said in a statement that the resumption of the U.S. inspection program was possible thanks to the “rapid response and cooperation” of Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, the federal government and APEAM.

“I thank them for working with my security colleagues at the U.S. Embassy to establish the measures that guarantee the security of our APHIS inspectors in the field,” he said.

Salazar noted that Mexican avocado exports to the U.S. were worth US $2.8 billion last year. Michoacán is the only state with authorization to ship the so-called “green gold” across Mexico’s northern border.

“Mexico and the United States will continue working together to fortify the strong bilateral supply chains that promote economic growth and prosperity in both countries,” the ambassador said.

The threat against the U.S. inspector was made after he detected an attempt to pass off avocados from Puebla as Michoacán-grown. He received a threatening call a few days after he refused to authorize the shipment of those avocados to the United States.

Citibanamex estimated that the import suspension cost avocado producers US $7.7 million per day.

In its statement, APHIS said the United States imported 1.2 million metric tonnes of avocados last year, with 1.1 million metric tonnes coming from Mexico.

With reports from El Universal and Milenio.