The Government of Mexico, through the Secretariat of Foreign Relations (SRE, Chancellor's Office), lamented and rejected this Monday the “unilateral decision” of Peru to break diplomatic relations in response to a legitimate act and in accordance with international law. The Mexican government's response came after the government of Peru announced this Monday that it had decided to break diplomatic relations with Mexico due to the asylum granted to Betsi Chávez Chino, former prime minister of leftist Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), who is being prosecuted along with him for the failed coup attempt at the end of 2022. In a statement, Mexico explained that it granted diplomatic asylum to Chávez Chino “in full compliance with international law”, in particular, the Convention on Diplomatic Asylum of 1954 (Caracas Convention), of which both Mexico and Peru are Parties. “Chávez Chino has mentioned that she has been the subject of repeated violations of her human rights as part of political persecution by the Peruvian state since her capture in 2023,” the SRE pointed out. And it stated that in accordance with the Caracas Convention, “the only body authorized to qualify the nature of persecution against asylum seekers is the asylum state, Mexico in this case”. The Chancellor's Office explained that the decision to grant diplomatic asylum to Chávez Chino was made under Article 11 of the Mexican Constitution “after a thorough evaluation and in strict observance of the procedure established for it” in the Law on Refugees, Complementary Protection and Political Asylum, as well as in accordance with the constitutional principles of foreign policy. Mexico reaffirmed, as has been recognized by the General Assembly of the United Nations, “that the granting of asylum cannot be considered an unfriendly act by any other state”. In view of the foregoing, the SRE clarified that Mexico rejects Peru's unilateral decision as “excessive and disproportionate” in the face of a legitimate act by Mexico and in accordance with international law, “which in no way constitutes an intervention in the internal affairs of Peru”. Mexico stated that it will remain faithful to its humanitarian tradition of defending human rights and providing protection to persons persecuted for political reasons, and will always prioritize dialogue and the friendly settlement of disputes, indicated the Chancellor's Office while reiterating the “historic bonds of friendship” that unite the peoples of Mexico and Peru. Previously, the transitional president of Peru, José Jerí, announced that a “peremptory deadline” had been set for the head of the Mexican Embassy in Lima to leave the country after breaking diplomatic relations over the asylum granted to Chávez Chino. The head of state informed on the social network X that “the head of the Mexican embassy in Peru, Karla Ornelas, was informed today by the chancellor that she has a peremptory deadline to leave our country”. Ornelas took over the leadership of the Mexican mission in Lima after the expulsion from the country in December 2022 of then Ambassador Pablo Monroy after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024) described Dina Boluarte as a “usurper”, who had assumed the leadership of the Peruvian state after the removal of Castillo. Both the current Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum and López Obrador have on several occasions demanded the release of Castillo, considering that he was the one who actually suffered a coup d'état that they attribute to the Peruvian power groups that dominate Congress. Peruvian Foreign Minister Hugo De Sela clarified that the break in diplomatic relations “does not mean” that consular relations with Mexico have been “broken”.
