Mexican Foreign Ministry: Peru Breaking Relations is a Disproportionate Action
This article originally appeared in the November 4, 2025 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.
Lima. Peru announced yesterday that it has severed diplomatic relations with Mexico, considering that in an act of “interference” in its affairs, the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum granted diplomatic asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chávez, who is accused of the crime of rebellion.
The South American country’s foreign ministry stated in a press release that “it is an unfriendly act, which adds to the series of unacceptable acts of interference” by Mexico toward Peru.
“The Mexican embassy in Lima has reported today that its government granted diplomatic asylum to Ms. Betssy Chávez Chino,” it indicated.
Foreign Minister Hugo de Zela had indicated before the release of that document that Chávez “is being granted asylum at the residence of the Mexican embassy in Peru.”
The prosecution in that nation accuses Chávez, who was prime minister in the government of leftist Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), of being a co-author of the crime of rebellion against the powers of the State, stemming from her participation in the events of December 7, 2022, when the then-president was deposed by Congress after having dissolved the legislature and temporarily closed constitutional institutions. The prosecution is seeking a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
The government of Peru is currently headed by interim president José Jerí Oré, who assumed power on October 10 after Congress, which he himself presided over, removed the de facto president, Dina Boluarte, alleging permanent moral incapacity.
The Peruvian Foreign Ministry stated in the communiqué that since “the failed coup attempt”—as both the Duarte and now the Jerí governments refer to the overthrow of Castillo—, “the Mexican government has been interfering in an inadmissible and systematic manner in Peru’s internal affairs, in clear violation of the principle of non-intervention recognized by international law.”
It affirms that Mexico’s “unacceptable position” since December 2022 has remained “unchanged,” despite repeated demands for respect for sovereignty.
De Zela previously stated that Mexico’s initiation of the asylum process constituted an “unfriendly act,” adding to the ongoing differences with the governments of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024) and Sheinbaum.
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De Zela specified that the break with Mexico affects bilateral ties, complicating not only diplomatic aspects but also cooperation at a regional level. However, he noted that consular relations, which pertain to the protection of nationals of both countries, remain in place.
Chávez is free with restrictions following a ruling by Peru’s Constitutional Court, which declared null and void the extension of her pretrial detention, which had expired.
However, the rebellion trial continues, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office maintains the risk of flight as the central element of its request for imprisonment or other stricter measures.
At night, José Jerí announced on X that “due to the rupture of diplomatic relations, the chargé d’affaires of the Mexican embassy in Peru, Karla Ornelas, was informed today by the foreign minister that she has a peremptory deadline to leave our country,” which he did not specify.
Óscar Vidarte, an international relations expert and professor of international relations at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, stated on his X account that the Peruvian government is obligated to allow former Prime Minister Betssy Chávez to leave the country if Mexico, which granted her asylum, requests it, reported the newspaper La República.
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