Overview
- The Metapa facility in Chiapas was reinaugurated on Saturday and began staged production this week using biological material flown in from Panama to seed its colonies.
- Operators plan a stepped ramp‑up that starts near 10 million sterile males per week and aims for about 100 million weekly by November to join Panama's output.
- U.S. officials announced roughly USD 83.8–84 million in additional support and a planned Edinburg, Texas, plant is expected to add further production capacity.
- U.S. restrictions on live Mexican cattle remain in force and officials say the border will reopen only after monitoring shows clear, program‑attributable declines in infections.
- The sterile‑insect technique is a proven method that worked previously in the region but success now depends on sustained binational coordination, ramping production, epidemiological indicators, and stopping illegal cattle movements that could reintroduce the pest.