An honorary consul from Guatemala is in the works for Utah.
Utah has three full consulates that provide legal and administrative help to citizens, and 28 honorary, or volunteer, consuls. Honorary consuls have limited power that varies by country, but the state’s director of international trade and diplomacy sees them as a tool to boost commerce with other countries.
The honorary consul from Guatemala would not have any official functions, so the Consulate of Guatemala in Denver would continue to visit Utah several times a year to help citizens with legal documentation.
Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski sees an honorary consul as the first step toward long-term diplomatic relations. He has met with Guatemalan leaders both in Ogden and in their home country, where he traveled on his own dime.
“When the whole thing started off, the first discussions were really around economic exchange,” he said.
Establishing the new consul is in the hands of the Guatemalan and U.S. governments, said Franz Kolb, who serves as director of international trade and diplomacy under the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and as Utah’s honorary consul for Austria.
“When you start diplomatic relations, invariably trade relations then follow, and educational collaborations and so on and so forth,” he said.
International trade is a win-win, he said, noting Utah’s economy is increasingly international.
The state’s international exports grew 12% from 2014 to 2024, and its imports by 58% after adjusting for inflation, according to the latest data from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
The exports support more than 70,000 jobs in Utah. The state’s largest trading partners are the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Mexico and Japan, and Utah has honorary consuls or full consulates with each of them except China.
In the past, Canada has also been a big contributor to Utah tourism.
For Utah resident Marco Guzman, the honorary consul would go beyond building economic bridges. The businessman and nonprofit leader is a candidate to be the new volunteer Guatemalan consul. As a longtime resident of Utah, he already spreads the word when the mobile consulate comes to town and volunteers his support. Helping fellow Guatemalans and Latinos is an honor, he said.
If he gets the job of honorary consul, he would help residents communicate with the Denver consulate in an emergency or assist them with paperwork.
“Most of the time, they don't know what kind of papers they have to present over there,” he said.
Roughly 25,000 to 28,000 Guatemalans live in Utah, according to estimates from the Guatemalan Consulate in Denver. The Gardner Institute puts that number at around 11,600, based on 2020 Census data. Guzman said they’re concentrated in and around Salt Lake City and West Valley City.
For him, the honorary consular post would bring the opportunity to share Guatemalan culture and help locals do business with or visit the country.
“I know everyone, almost, in the area, and they trust me, I trust them, so I try to help,” he said.
The world is getting smaller, Kolb said, pointing to Salt Lake City’s new direct international flight to Lima, Peru. As international trade increases, Kolb expects to see more consular relations.
“The more business we do, the more it helps us,” he said.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
