DEMARCHE ON POSSIBLE PUERTO RICAN REQUEST FOR

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001336 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL GT SUBJECT: DEMARCHE ON POSSIBLE PUERTO RICAN REQUEST FOR RECOGNITION REF: STATE 131326 PolOff discussed reftel points with Marco Tulio Chicas, Deputy Director for Multilateral Affairs at the Foreign Ministry on May 21. Chicas, who is the MFA's action officer for the Central American Integration System (SICA),confirmed that Puerto Rico had requested Guatemalan support in its bid for permanent observer status in SICA and said he believed Puerto Rico had made the same request in all SICA capitals. Guatemala's response to Puerto Rico, according to Chicas, has been to merely receive the request. Chicas stated that the MFA understood the logic or our points and added that no decisions would be made until the MFA's legal department reviewed the request. We would note, however, that Puerto Rico sought and obtained observer status at the Central American Parliament in October of 2001. HAMILTON