Mexico grants diplomatic asylum to former Peruvian prime minister.
Mexico has granted diplomatic asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chávez, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement. The decision was made «in full adherence to international law, in particular, the 1954 Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum, of which both Mexico and Peru are Parties», the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
The Ministry also indicated that Chávez «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 Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the decision to grant diplomatic asylum to Chávez «was adopted under Article 11 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, after a meticulous evaluation and in strict observance of the procedure established in the Law on Refugees, Complementary Protection, and Political Asylum».
This measure, the ministry added, was taken «in accordance with the constitutional principles of foreign policy, Mexican humanism, and Mexico's historical vocation in matters of asylum and refuge».
«Mexico reaffirms, as has been recognized by the United Nations General Assembly, that the granting of asylum cannot be considered an unfriendly act by any other State», it reiterated.
Highlighting the historical ties of friendship between the Mexican and Peruvian peoples, the Government of Mexico stated that «it will continue its humanitarian tradition of defending human rights and providing protection to persons persecuted for political reasons and will prioritize dialogue and the friendly settlement of disputes».
«In the face of this act, and taking into account the repeated interventions of the former president (of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador) in the internal affairs of Peru, the Government of Peru has decided to break diplomatic relations with Mexico», Peru stated through its Foreign Minister.
According to a Xinhua news agency report, Peru described the Mexican decision as an unfriendly act that violates the principles of non-intervention and emphasized that the granting of asylum has caused an irreversible break in bilateral relations.
Betssy Chávez, who was head of Pedro Castillo's cabinet, faces a judicial process for rebellion and conspiracy after the attempted closure of Congress and self-coup on December 7, 2022, which resulted in the removal and detention of then-president.
De Zela mentioned that the asylum for Chávez does not imply the suspension of consular ties.
«The fact that we have broken diplomatic relations with Mexico does not mean that we have broken consular relations; therefore, our compatriots in Mexico will continue to be under the protection of our consul in that country, as well as Mexicans living in Peru will continue to be under the protection of Mexican consular authorities in our country», he stated.
The diplomatic rupture marks a new episode of tension between Peru and Mexico, whose relations have deteriorated since 2022 due to comments from López Obrador, who had openly questioned the ousting of Castillo and supported his former collaborators.
Development:
The Government of the Dominican Republic announced it will postpone the X Summit of the Americas, originally planned for this year, to 2026 after consulting with key partners, including the United States. The decision was made after a «careful evaluation» of the regional situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a communiqué, citing deep political divergences that hinder productive dialogue in the hemisphere and the recent impact of extreme weather phenomena in the Caribbean.
Peru's Ministry of Foreign Affairs lamented and rejected Mexico's «unilateral» decision to break diplomatic relations, considering it «excessive and disproportionate in the face of a legitimate act in accordance with international law».
In a statement, the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE, Ministry of Foreign Affairs) emphasized that its position in no way constitutes an intervention in the internal affairs of the South American country.
Earlier, Peru's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugo de Zela, reported that Betssy Chávez, former prime minister of Pedro Castillo's government (2021-2022) and prosecuted for the failed coup attempt in December 2022, is asylanted in the residence of the Mexican Embassy in Lima and that this fact caused the rupture of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
