Mexico: Sheinbaum responds to U.S. border closure due to screwworm, says it is ‘completely exaggerated’ decision

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday at a press conference described it as being "completely exaggerated" in response to the U.S. government's decision to close its border again to Mexican cattle imports after a case of New World Screwworm (NWS) was detected in Veracruz, some 370 miles from the border, according to Newsweek reported.

"There was only one case identified," Sheinbaum said at the press conference, criticizing the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) measure as disproportionate.

Eradicated in the U.S. decades ago, NWS has advanced from Central America into Mexico since 2022, according to the USDA. The detection in Veracruz, confirmed by Mexico's Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria, led to the immediate closure of the border to livestock trade, following its reopening.

The USDA justified the measure as an action to protect U.S. herds, emphasizing the need to maintain a barrier free of the parasite.

Along those lines, the department noted, "To ensure the protection of U.S. livestock herds, USDA is holding Mexico accountable by ensuring proactive measures are being taken to maintain a NWS free barrier."

However, Sheinbaum defended the Mexican position, stating that "Mexico is nobody's piñata" and questioned the magnitude of the U.S. response to an isolated case.

This new border closure rekindles tensions in the bilateral cattle trade, a key sector for Mexico.