All information regarding the construction of the new U.S. consulate general in Guadalajara is not to be disclosed for five years under a municipal transparency directive.
On May 31, the Comité de Transparencia de Guadalajara determined that maintaining secrecy about the construction of the new diplomatic mission is paramount, as divulging any details could represent a “real risk” to the consul and consulate employees.
For this reason, the public may not know exactly how many trees have been felled on the 3.5-hectare site over the past few weeks during the initial phase of construction work. Images taken from the perimeter of the site suggest that dozens of trees may have been cut down.
The Transparency Committee declaration noted that the decision to maintain secrecy was approved given that diplomatic missions of the United States have been regular targets of attacks since 1965.