© 2024 WFAE

Mailing Address:
WFAE 90.7
P.O. Box 896890
Charlotte, NC 28289-6890
Tax ID: 56-1803808
90.7 Charlotte 93.7 Southern Pines 90.3 Hickory 106.1 Laurinburg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Colombia to open new consulate in Charlotte

People wait in line at Charlotte's pop-up Colombian consulate in August 2022.
Lideres Colombianos en Charlotte
People wait in line at Charlotte's pop-up Colombian consulate in August 2022.

Colombia will open five new consulates serving Colombians in the U.S., including one in Charlotte. The move comes as North Carolina’s Latino population continues to rise.

Last year, community group Lideres Colombianos started a call to action to bring a consulate to Charlotte.

A petition on Change.org emphasized the importance of having a consulate to serve members of the Colombian community in North and South Carolina. Just over 46,000 Colombians live in the Carolinas, according to Census data.

In a video, Colombia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Gilberto Murillo said the new consulates reflect the needs of a country that has sent hundreds of thousands of immigrants to the U.S.

“This is a response to the needs of the Colombian diaspora, the extended Colombia, the Colombian population that lives abroad,” Murillo said.

https://www.instagram.com/cancilleriacol/reel/C7iK_bmOnjH/

The consulate in Charlotte will fill a major gap in the Southeast as the population continues to grow, making it easier for Colombians to renew passports and register marriages locally.

The nearest consulate is currently three hours away in Atlanta. It serves seven states, including the Carolinas. This has caused a backlog, with only a limited number of volunteers working to fulfill appointments.

The Colombian ministry did not say when the consulate in Charlotte will open. New Colombian consulates are also slated for Phoenix, Dallas, Seattle and Denver.

Sign up for EQUALibrium

Kenny is a Maryland native who began his career in media as a sportswriter at Tuskegee University, covering SIAC sports working for the athletic department and as a sports correspondent for the Tuskegee Campus Digest. Following his time at Tuskegee, he was accepted to the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program as a Marketing Intern for The NASCAR Foundation in Daytona Beach, Florida in 2017.