United States Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins threatened Saturday to close American ports to Mexican animal exports if they don’t allow the U.S. to help eradicate a deadly flesh eating insect outbreak.
Mexican customs officials are imposing burdensome import fees on American aviation equipment which is crucial to a joint effort between the two countries to fight a continuing outbreak of New World Screwworm, a parasite which feasts on the flesh on live mammals.
Rollins gave Mexico until April 30 to waive customs duties on U.S. eradication equipment which she said was crucial for helping quell the outbreak.
As the New World Screwworm outbreak is escalating, Mexico must eliminate restrictions on USDA aircraft and waive customs duties on eradication equipment. These barriers critically impair our joint response.
Without resolution by April 30, @USDA will close American ports of entry… pic.twitter.com/SPeR5l3D7s
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) April 26, 2025
Rollins also asked that Mexico grant a minimum one year permit to Dynamic Aviation, a company which the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) contracted to help fight the outbreak, to fly in Mexico rather than the temporary 60-day permit it’s currently on.
Additionally, she requested that Dynamic be permitted to fly seven days a week, rather than their current permissions for six days. (RELATED: Brooke Rollins Warns Of National Security Threat Known To Cause ‘Decline Of Other Great Civilizations’)
“The success of the operation requires consistent flights 7 days per week-including direct flight permissions, pilot credentialing, facility access, and full control over their logistical and technical operations,” she wrote to Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture Julio Antonio Berdegue Sacristan.
New World Screwworm larvae feed exclusively on the flesh of living animals and humans. The flies lay their eggs in open wound and mucus membranes of warm-blooded animals. If left untreated, screwworm infection can be deadly, according to USDA subagency Animal and Plant Health Infection Services (APHIS).
The parasites are endemic to Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and other countries in South America. The United States eradicated them in 1966 using sterile insect technique, a process of introducing sterile male flies into a population of fertile females, according to APHIS.
(1/3) APHIS is working with partners in Mexico and Central America to stop the spread of New World screwworm (NWS) into the United States. Our strongest and most reliable tool for eradication of NWS is through sterile insect technique.#APHIS #ProtectingAgriculture pic.twitter.com/G7lM3ESepd
— USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (@USDA_APHIS) December 13, 2024
While the USDA considers the pest eradicated in the U.S., the agency also says it is a constant fight to keep eradication status. The current outbreak in Mexico began in 2024, prompting APHIS to disburse $165 million in emergency funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation.
The United States has established biological barriers in Central America at the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia to try and prevent northern spread. As part of the sterile insect technique, the U.S. and Panama produce 20 million sterile screwworms every week which they then release on the Darien Gap, according to APHIS.
If able to spread to the U.S., the pest could devastate southern livestock populations.
“If NWS were to spread to the United States, it would result in significant economic losses and threats to animal health and welfare,” Jenny Lester Moffit, a former USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, said in December.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
