"From Guatemala there is indiscriminate passage of stolen cattle, sick cattle. Estimates cited by Mexican authorities in 2022 and others by sector experts indicate the number of illegal cattle crossing into Mexico is at least 800,000 per year. These animals bypass government checkpoints, sanitary inspections and taxes, and are then sold to meat companies or larger cattle producers. "It's a business," said Jorge Ortiz of the Tapachula municipal slaughterhouse and a local pig farmer, about illegal livestock. The outbreak is bringing fresh trade tensions to the US-Mexico trade relationship as Mexico has three months to negotiate a trade deal with the US or face increased tariffs.