New Peruvian Consulate head to focus on community needs, gender issues, family violence

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Yesica Fonseca Martínez has taken over as head of the Peruvian Consulate in Utah, replacing Czibor Chicata-Sutmöller.
She aims to put a focus on quickly processing document requests from the Peruvian community, gender issues and family violence.
Peru, Mexico and El Salvador all have consulates in Utah to serve citizens from the countries living here.

SALT LAKE CITY — Yesica Fonseca Martínez has taken over leadership of the Peruvian Consulate in Utah and aims to put a focus on serving the community of Peruvians living in the state.

"We're working so they can get their documents sooner," she said, alluding to the consulate's principal role in providing Peruvians with Peruvian identity cards and passports. "It's important to us to make sure every user at the consulate gets their documents as quickly as possible."

That, though, won't be her only focus as she takes over from Czibor Chicata-Sutmöller, the former general consul here, who returned to Peru, per Peruvian government guidelines, after five years of diplomatic service abroad. Fonseca, who previously served as the charge d'affaires at the Peruvian Embassy in Mexico City, took over the Utah post on July 1.

She wants to spearhead efforts to create a bank of information that new Peruvian arrivals to Utah can tap to help them adjust to life here. As the first female consul general in Utah, she also plans to put a focus on gender issues, family violence and other matters of importance to women and children. Apart from Peru, which opened its consulate in Utah in 2024, Mexico and El Salvador also have consulates in Utah.

Other focuses will be promoting Peruvian culture and economic cooperation between Peru and Utah. A delegation of Utah leaders traveled to Peru last December on a trade mission, and a contingent of Peruvian leaders traveled to Utah in late 2024, also aiming to promote commerce.

Peru and Utah have strong ties stemming from the back-and-forth flow of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including missionaries, she said. "Moreover, there are many economic opportunities in Utah for our businesses and for cooperation between the two countries," she said.

Utah is home to a growing Latino population, like many U.S. states, and Fonseca noted similarities between Peruvians and Utahns. She estimates that around 40,000 Peruvians live in Utah.

"Peruvians are characterized as being workers, for being dedicated to family, and for being people who prioritize the education of their kids. Those are things that we have in common with the citizens of Utah," she said.

Aside from Mexico, Fonseca previously held a diplomatic post at the Peruvian Consulate in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and at the Peruvian mission to the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C. Peru has 17 consulates around the United States.

In related news, Eduardo Baca Cuenca, who had served as general consul of the Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City, ended his tenure in the post on Dec. 31 last year. Antonio Cruz Diaz is serving as acting consul until a permanent replacement is named, according to the Mexican Consulate.

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