The diplomatic war between Peru and Mexico reached a new peak this week after Peru’s Congress voted to declare Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum “persona non grata,” essentially deeming her unwelcome in the country.
The decision marks the latest, and most aggressive, escalation following Mexico’s decision to grant political asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chávez.
The diplomatic crisis stems from the tumultuous removal of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo in December 2022. Castillo, a leftist former rural schoolteacher, was swiftly ousted by Congress after he attempted to dissolve the legislative body in what was widely condemned as a coup attempt.
Betssy Chávez, who served as Castillo’s prime minister, was charged alongside him for rebellion and abuse of authority. While Castillo remains in preventive custody facing a 34-year sentence request, Chávez was released on bail and recently sought refuge in the Mexican embassy in Lima.
Mexico, defending its long-standing humanitarian tradition, granted Chávez political asylum. Peru, however, sees this as an “unfriendly act” and unacceptable interference in its internal affairs, leading interim President José Jerí to formally break off diplomatic relations with Mexico and give its top diplomat a strict deadline to leave.
The Peruvian Congress, in a decisive 63-33 vote, passed the measure against Sheinbaum on Thursday. Right-wing acting Congress President Fernando Rospigliosi stated that Sheinbaum had “clearly established” interference in Peru’s affairs, “not only in words” but also through the granting of asylum.
Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has rejected the declaration as based on “false assertions,” maintaining that the asylum offer to Chávez—who denies the charges and claims political persecution—was made in strict accordance with the 1954 Caracas Convention on diplomatic asylum, which is recognized by both nations.
The Peruvian Foreign Ministry is currently reviewing this international law as it evaluates Mexico’s request for a safe passage document that would allow Chávez to leave the embassy for Mexico without being arrested.
Meanwhile, Socialist lawmaker Jaime Quito criticized the measure, saying Congress was “once again, making an international embarrassment by breaking relations with our sister country Mexico.”
The escalating tensions underscore the political divide in the region and bring the historically strained ties between Lima and Mexico to their worst point in decades.
