The offices of the U.S. Consulate in Mérida on North 60th Street officially closed their doors to the public on April 30th, after 19 years and 5 months of serving the citizens of the Yucatán Peninsula.
Beginning next Tuesday, April 6th, consular services of the United States government will be provided in its new building located next to The Harbor, in the Via Montejo residential complex, on the Progreso exit.
Consul General Justen A. Thomas reported that the new building will allow for improved consular services, primarily the issuance of visas and assistance to his compatriots who require U.S. government intervention.
However, initial visa processing will continue at the service center located at 66th and 69th Streets in Downtown Mérida.
The move began a few weeks ago, and yesterday saw the lowering and safekeeping ceremony of the United States flag, a ceremony carried out by three military personnel: Marine Mickey Dink and Air Force personnel Nick Petukoff and Dennis Monshain, who are assigned to secure the consulate building in Mérida.
The American flag was placed in the care of the owner of the building that has housed the United States consulate since November 2006: businessman Abraham Jorge Musi, who received the flag from the consul.
Before the flag was lowered, Mr. Thomas delivered a message with anecdotes from the experiences of the eight consuls who served in that building and the 87 active workers who will be transferred to the new building on Via Montejo. The message drew laughter from the guests, including consulate employees and Yucatán government workers.
The consul emphasized that the investment of more than $210 million in the construction of the new consulate building, now owned by the U.S. Department of State, is evidence of the importance of this region of the Yucatán Peninsula to the United States.
The new building is a key element in the bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United States. Still, the most valuable asset is the human resource, not the material one, such as the officials and employees who dedicate their time to strengthening the strong friendship that exists between Mexico and the United States, the consul noted.
“We are closing this consulate and opening our new facilities north of Mérida, on Via Montejo, on the street of the consulates, to the public on Tuesday, May 6,” he announced. “Thank you all for being part of this historic heritage of the United States Consulate in Mérida.”
TYT Newsroom
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