Tensions between Mexico and Peru continue to increase with the decision, on Friday evening, of the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to keep in suspense the situation of Pedro Castillo’s former prime minister, Betssy Chávez, who has taken refuge in the Mexican embassy. Chávez, accused of being a co-author of the December 2022 self-coup, has received asylum from Mexico and needs safe passage to leave Peru, a permission the Peruvian government is reluctant to grant.
The Foreign Ministry says that before making this decision it will consult member countries of the Organization of American States because it believes that “a negative evolution has occurred in the international practice” of the 1954 Caracas Convention. “This provision has been abused, classifying common crimes as cases of political persecution. In no case should it be used to evade the application of national laws so that people who have committed crimes can free themselves from judicial decisions,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. declaration.
The Mexican state believes that both Betssy Chávez and Pedro Castillo are victims of their political opponents. They publicly defended their innocence and also had meetings with their lawyers. For the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office there is convincing evidence to convict them of the crime of rebellion or at least conspiracy. Castillo could serve up to 34 years in prison while in Chávez’s case it would be 25 years in prison.
This week, after denouncing the “interference in the internal affairs” of Mexico, the government of Peru declared Claudia Sheinbaum persona non grata and the Foreign Ministry announced the breakdown in relations between the two nations. They had already been reduced to the level of chargés d’affaires in 2023, when Dina Boluarte was still governing, replacing Castillo in the Peruvian government after the self-coup.
Given what they consider to be an abuse of the right to asylum, Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced that it will present to the OAS “a proposal to amend the 1954 Caracas Convention to prevent this distortion of its essence from continuing to occur,” the letter reads.
The government of José Jerí – which this Monday will complete its mandate one month after replacing Boluarte – will carry out a consultation process with the member countries of the OAS to implement this reform initiative “whose central objective is that the rule of law is respected by all inhabitants of the Americas”.
The Foreign Ministry had already expelled Karlas Ornelas, head of the Mexican embassy in Peru, giving her a “peremptory deadline” to leave the country. Until the Jerí government announces its decision regarding safe passage, Betssy Chávez will continue to take refuge in the residence.
