Peru's government announced on Monday the break in diplomatic relations with Mexico, due to the asylum granted to former Prime Minister Betssy Chávez at the Mexican embassy in Lima. The decision stems from viewing this as interference in Peru's internal affairs. Consular relations remain intact.
On Monday, November 3, Peru's Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela announced in a press conference that his country has decided to break diplomatic relations with Mexico. This measure responds to the asylum granted to Betssy Chávez, former prime minister under Pedro Castillo's government, who is now at the Mexican embassy residence in Lima. De Zela described the act as 'unfriendly' and pointed to the 'repeated actions' by current and former Mexican presidents, Claudia Sheinbaum and Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in interfering in Peru's internal affairs.
Chávez, alleged co-author of the failed coup attempt led by Castillo on December 7, 2022, was detained since June 2023. She was released in early September 2024 after a hunger strike that caused dehydration, and the Constitutional Court ordered her release due to arbitrary detention, as prosecutors failed to request an extension of her preventive custody in time. Mexico has repeatedly demanded Castillo's freedom, arguing that he was the victim of a coup by power groups in Peru's Congress.
As a result, Karla Tatiana Ornelas Loera, charge d'affaires at the Mexican embassy in Peru and head of the chancellery in the absence of an ambassador, was notified by De Zela of a peremptory deadline to leave the South American country. Peruvian congressman José Jerí confirmed this notification. De Zela clarified that the break does not affect consular relations and that Peru awaits formal communication from Mexico to start the asylum process, which has not yet occurred. The Mexican embassy is located on Avenida Jorge Basadre in San Isidro, Lima.