MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday described as 鈥渦nfair鈥� the decision by the Trump administration for 15 days due to the detection of screwworm in shipments.
, who has spent the past few months scrambling to offset , said she hoped the suspension would not result in another economic blow for her country.
鈥淲e do not agree with this measure,鈥� she said at her morning press conference on Monday. 鈥淭he Mexican government has been working an all fronts from the very first moment we were alerted to the screwworm."
The U.S. restricted Mexican cattle shipments in late November following the detection of the pest, but lifted the ban in February after protocols were put in place to evaluate the animals prior to entry into the country. But there has been an 鈥渦nacceptable northward advancement鈥� of the screwworm, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement Sunday.
鈥淭he last time this devastating pest invaded the U.S. it took our livestock industry 30 years to recover,鈥� U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on the X social media platform. 鈥淭his can never happen again.鈥�
The screwworm is a larva of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly that can invade the tissues of any warm-blooded animal, including humans. The parasite enters the skin, causing serious and life-threatening damage and lesions.
Mexico鈥檚 Health Ministry issued an epidemiological warning this month after the first human case of screwworm myiasis, or parasitic infestation, was confirmed on April 17 in a 77-year-old woman living in the southern state of Chiapas.
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