U.S. border cops target Mexico punch ingredients

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Spicy ingredients used by Mexican American families to make a popular Christmas punch are being targeted by U.S. border police in a crackdown on crop pests.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is warning travelers they face fines of $300 for smuggling guavas, Hawthorne apples and sugar cane used to make "calientitos" or "ponche," a hot punch sipped by Mexican Americans from California to Texas in the holiday season.

The ban on smuggling agricultural products is year-round and border-wide, and seeks to safeguard U.S. farming from crop pests such as the Mexican fruit fly. A reminder was issued this week as more travelers were nabbed with the ingredients, the agency said.

"As the temperatures begin to drop we see a corresponding increase in the number of smuggling attempts that include the ingredients of this holiday drink," said Ana Hinojosa, CBP Director of Field Operations in El Paso, in a statement.

"The best way to avoid penalty and safeguard the U.S. agriculture industry is to declare all items acquired abroad to the CBP officer when arriving at a port of entry. Prohibited items can then be identified and abandoned without consequence," she added.

Inspectors in the El Paso area made nine seizures of prohibited food and farm products over the weekend, including ponche ingredients, and slapped $2,100 in fines on travelers. Some border residents took the ban to heart.

"Customs and Border Protection always has to kill my holiday trip!," one commentator posted on quirky south Texas blog 'Que Fregados.'

"I can't wait to see the release prohibiting Santa Claus from flying across international borders."

(Reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Jerry Norton)