January 5, 2021

Avocados are the source of mafia funding. In Mexico, the world's largest producer, the use of avocados, extortion and intimidation of plantation officials has become the normal, and there have been a series of cases of kidnapping and killing residents who do not comply with their demands. Fights between criminal organizations over avocados have caused a further deterioration in security, and some regions have fallen into "lawless areas." Other producers, such as South Africa and New Zealand, are also facing a growing problem of avocados being stolen, and the black market for avocados is spreading on a global scale.

Avocados are called "green gold". This is because the world's health-conscious growth has seen avocado consumption grow rapidly, the more it produces, the more lucrative money it is. Global avocados production has tripled in the last 20 years.

Mexico, the top producer, accounts for about 35% of the world's production.

Avocados began to attract general attention in the 1990s. California was the main producer in the U.S., and importing avocados from Mexico in 1997 as supply continued to keep up with demand, to meet domestic demand in the early days of the boom.

Today, the United States is the world's largest importer of avocados. In the name of preventing the invasion of pests, it only allows the import of avocados from a limited municipality in Mexico to protect California, where it is produced. Most of them are in the central state of Michoacan.

By 2013, criminal organizations were funding avocados in Mexico. They forced farms and transporters who produce avocados to pay "protection money." In this way, a criminal organization named after the Group of Knights Templar, a medieval European knighthood, increased its power.

The leader of Knights Templar was killed in a fight with another group, and once the extortion targeting avocados subsided, an organization called "Viagras" appeared. One of the founders used plenty of gel to make his hair stand up, so he named the erectile dysfunction drug the group name. It's a funny name, but the way avocados are funded is cruel and daring.

Members appear in the forest with machine guns and chainsaws, cutting trees one after another. After the logging of the area, the members planted avocados with higher profit margins, not cannabis grass planted by previous criminal groups.

Viagras overworked locals to grow avocados, and once on track, it began collecting a "tax" of about $250 per hectare, including from surrounding avocado farmers. The name is a "bouncer fee" to protect against other criminal organizations.

Farmers who refuse to pay "taxes" are relentless. Not only the lord of farm but also the family including woman and girl are to be killed.

Other criminal groups also imitate "Viagras" and eat avocado farmers, mainly in Michoakan. For this reason, there are frequent conflicts between criminal organizations.

Jalisco New Generation, which is rooted in the neighboring state of Jalisco, is Viagras' biggest rival, and the feud is a daily routine. The conflict is accompanied by violent gun violence. The unreasonable "tax" caused by violence.

The authorities see it as a conflict over the dark trade in avocados, but mass killings like the show are the very root of Mexican society, where criminal organizations are prevalent. The world has come to see the deep darkness behind the world's beloved avocado.

It is commonplace every day for avocados to be stolen. Mexican producers estimate that about 48 tons of avocados are stolen every day in the country, enough for four trucks. Avocado theft has also become more serious in South Africa and New Zealand. Stolen avocados are often traded on social media and other internet channels, negatively affecting regularly distributed avocados in terms of hygiene and price.

Concerned about the current situation, there is a movement to stop eating avocados at some famous restaurants in Europe. The idea is to cut off the source of funding for criminal organizations by not buying avocados. However, such a simple idea does not solve the problem.

In Mexico, there are many farmers who are used to grow plants that are the source of poppy and other drugs for their daily lives. In many cases, these farmers switch their plants to avocados and become healthy farmers. Boycotting avocados could ruin even Mexican farmers' efforts to get out of poverty.

Avocados are not to be bad. Ignorance and indifference at the world level which does not try to know such a reality make forced to take over an antisocial force.

Taro Yanaka / Journalist

His coverage is a wide range of coverage from town stories to international affairs, specializes in economics, diplomacy, North America, Latin America, South Pacific, Organized Crime, and Terrorism.  His hobby is driving around the world.

Related articles