The country of El Salvador will open a consular mission in McAllen to serve thousands of Salvadoran immigrants processed by federal authorities and a growing Salvadoran community in the region.
El Salvador Foreign Minister Hugo Roger Martinez and Consul Sandra Agreda will join Mayor Jim Darling and McAllen City and McAllen Chamber officials and community leaders for a ribbon cutting Friday August 29 at 9 a.m. The facility is located at 301 N. Main Suite 7 (second floor).
The new consulate will be McAllen’s fourth foreign office which includes Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Mayor Jim Darling said he welcomes the new office, and adds that the consulates adds a degree of sophistication to McAllen.
“We are proud to have another international consulate in McAllen and proud to grow the city’s diplomatic corps,” Darling said. “There’s thousands of Salvadorans in the Rio Grande Valley and the consulate will be able to provide them services they need and deserve. We will do what we can to accommodate El Salvador and other foreign governments who want to open missions in McAllen.”
The consulate will operate in an office complex at 301 N. Main in downtown McAllen. However, it is scheduled to move to a building on South Broadway after it’s renovated and expanded by the City of McAllen. At this time, the Broadway building houses the Guatemala and Honduras consulates. The Mexico consulate is located nearby.
“The Salvadoran consulate will be part of the city’s embassy row,” Darling said. “These foreign government diplomats are providing a service to their countrymen, and we welcome them to live and work in McAllen.”
El Salvador has an Embassy in Washington and about two dozen consulates in the United States including one in Houston and another in Dallas. Most foreign governments have embassies in the nation’s capital with an ambassador as the top representative of their country.
Consulates are like smaller embassies and often located in large cities or in areas where that country’s citizens need services. A consulate’s’ chief officer is the Consul. Typical services offered by consulates include aid with passport and travel documents, help in emergencies and legal guidance. It may also communicate directly with host county government officials and could do public relations, cultural and trade activities.
More on El Salvador: http://www.rree.gob.sv/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=643
Recent Honduran Consulate opening in McAllen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB21djO4jR4
El Salvador Flag:
www.mcallen.net @cityofmcallen