Peru Severs Ties With Mexico Over Asylum for Ex–Prime Minister Betssy Chávez

Overview

• Peru’s Foreign Ministry announced the break on Nov. 3 after confirming Chávez was granted refuge at the Mexican ambassador’s residence in Lima.
• Interim president José Jerí said the Mexican ambassador was given a deadline to leave the country as part of the diplomatic rupture.
• Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela labeled the move a hostile act and cited repeated interference by Mexican leaders in Peru’s internal affairs.
• Mexico’s Foreign Ministry rejected the decision as disproportionate and lawful under asylum norms, and President Claudia Sheinbaum called Peru’s move out of proportion.
• Chávez faces prosecution over the failed 2022 attempt to dissolve Congress, with prosecutors seeking 25 years, in a relationship already strained since Mexico sheltered Pedro Castillo’s family and both countries withdrew ambassadors.