Katarina Szulc

They're employing people from their town and they're making good money to support themselves, right?

So then you have our men come and say, either get out or pay me an amount that they typically cannot afford because it's not that much money.

And you're saying, now, give me 80% of your earnings.

How are you supposed to maintain your orchards if you're losing more than half of your income to organized crime?

So a lot of these people have to abandon their farms.

There are... Hundreds of avocado orchards, particularly in Michoacán, have been abandoned by their rightful owner and cartels are now working those orchards.

Or the very people who own these places are now being employed by the cartel to go and farm the land, work the land.

And...

There are certain produce companies in the U.S.

who are knowingly, some not knowingly, but others knowingly, purchasing avocados from cartel-run avocado orchards in Mexico.

And I reached out to these.

I actually had...

a really significant produce person, someone who worked for the US government as an inspector before.

So the US sends inspectors to these regions to make sure, you know, for pesticide control, pest control, whatever the case may be, and even for ethics.

So is organized crime operating here?

And I got in contact with someone who did this job.

And I got a list of produce company names that were knowingly, are knowingly importing avocados and limes from farms that are now run by the cartels blatantly.

And when I reached out to them and said, you know, what is your guys' due process to ensure that you aren't supporting organized crime?

No comment.

We don't talk about this.