{"record":{"aliases":[],"appointmentIds":["mexico-9a7f8aade22b5e"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/mx-rafael-de-la-colina-riquelme-26af22009f/","countrySlug":"mexico","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/mx-rafael-de-la-colina-riquelme-26af22009f/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Rafael de la Colina entered Mexico's foreign service in 1918 and learned consular work in the United States. In Philadelphia, he helped Mexican railway workers document their hours and contest withheld pay. After other American postings and study at Harvard, he became consul in Los Angeles during the Depression. He organized trains for thousands of unemployed Mexicans returning home and traveled on some journeys to check conditions. His later oral history described both the assistance provided and the pressure that drove families to leave.","De la Colina moved to the Washington embassy as minister counselor in 1943 and later became ambassador. He recalled delivering Mexico's final payment to the U.S. Treasury under the settlement of property claims. In April 1951, he joined Foreign Secretary Manuel Tello in talks over a proposed Mexican troop contribution to the Korean War; Tello explained why Mexico would not send a division.","De la Colina subsequently represented Mexico at the United Nations and in Canada and Japan. His long service at the Organization of American States included work on reforms to its Charter and the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance. The Senate awarded him the Belisario Domínguez Medal in 1974. He died in Virginia in 1996."],"id":"mexico:mx-rafael-de-la-colina-riquelme","identifiers":{},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-26af22009f1c00f84adf.html","name":"Rafael de la Colina Riquelme","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["colina-oral"],["colina-oral","colina-korea"],["colina-oral"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-26af22009f1c00f84adf.html","relatedEvents":[],"relatedPeople":[{"certainty":"documented","name":"Manuel Tello Baurraud","note":"Joined Tello in the April6,1951 Washington discussion of Mexico and the Korean War.","profileUrl":"diplomat-4e06d345fd00a116c9f6.html","sourceIds":["colina-korea"],"targetId":"mexico:mx-manuel-tello-baurraud","type":"collaboration"}],"relationships":[{"certainty":"documented","note":"Joined Tello in the April6,1951 Washington discussion of Mexico and the Korean War.","sourceIds":["colina-korea"],"targetId":"mexico:mx-manuel-tello-baurraud","type":"collaboration"}],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"7de0cfd6fd070c75","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":null,"id":"colina-oral","locator":"Issue35; abridged November1986 oral history and biographical sidebar","publisher":"Revista BiCentenario / Graciela de Garay","title":"Rafael de la Colina Riquelme. El buen cónsul en Estados Unidos.","type":"primary-record","url":"https://revistabicentenario.com.mx/index.php/archivos/rafael-de-la-colina-riquelme-el-buen-consul-en-estados-unidos/"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"1951-04-06","id":"colina-korea","locator":"FRUS1951, vol.II, document815; participants and Tello's response","publisher":"U.S. Department of State","title":"Memorandum of Conversation — Mexican Participation in Korea","type":"primary-record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1951v02/d815"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"","id":"mission-9fe6d5f27d546bc5f4ec","locator":"Official historical roster. Its stale “Actual” entry for Moctezuma is superseded by the current embassy. Blank dates remain unknown; appointment and credential dates are distinct.","publisher":"","title":"SRE Historical Diplomatic Archive — Mexican representatives to the United States","type":"Mission record","url":"https://portales.sre.gob.mx/acervo/images/Embajadores-2024/sedes-2024/1_25-Estados_Unidos.pdf"}],"topics":["consular protection","Depression repatriations","Organization of American States","Korean War"]},"schemaVersion":1}