U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says Mexico has not adequately enacted protocols to curb the spread of New World screwworm, a sign of tension between the two countries as they navigate the northward march of the pest.
Rollins blamed a recent screwworm detection less than 70 miles from the U.S. border on Mexico’s failure to curb cattle movements and inadequate monitoring of fly traps meant to reduce the wild population of screwworm flies, which infest and can kill livestock if untreated.
Screwworm has not yet crossed the U.S. border, according to officials, but poses a multibillion-dollar risk to the U.S. beef industry.
The U.S. has kept its border mostly closed to Mexican cattle imports since May.
