Peru has severed diplomatic relations with Mexico after accusing it of granting asylum to a former Peruvian prime minister who is on trial over an alleged coup attempt in 2022.
The announcement on Monday came hours after former Prime Minister Betssy Chavez – who served under former President Pedro Castillo – fled to the Mexican Embassy in Peru.
“Today we learned with surprise and deep regret that Betssy Chavez, the alleged co-author of the coup attempt by former President Pedro Castillo, is being granted asylum at the Mexican Embassy residence in Peru,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugo de Zela told a news conference.
“Given this unfriendly act, and considering the repeated instances in which the current and former presidents of that country have interfered in Peru’s internal affairs, the Peruvian government has decided to sever diplomatic relations with Mexico today,” he added.
There was no immediate comment from Mexico.
Chavez’s lawyer, Raul Noblecilla, told local radio station RPP that he had not heard from his client in several days and was unaware of whether she had requested asylum.
Chavez, who served in Castillo’s cabinet as Minister of Culture, was appointed as prime minister in November 2022 amid a months-long standoff between the president and the Congress.
Castillo – a former rural schoolteacher and trade unionist, dubbed Peru’s “first poor president” – was impeached by lawmakers the following month when he attempted to dissolve the Congress.
Relations between Lima and Mexico deteriorated sharply afterwards.
