The governments of Peru and Mexico agreed to restore their diplomatic relations after the Peruvian government, led by right-wing President Keiko Fujimori, agreed to issue a safe-conduct pass to Betssy Chávez, former prime minister under left-wing President Pedro Castillo (2021–2022), whom the Mexican government had granted diplomatic asylum.
Foreign Minister Carlos Espá reported that Chávez left Peru around midnight, with the support of security forces, in compliance with the decision to grant her a safe-conduct pass based on the political asylum she had received in Mexico.
Minutes later, speaking to Canal N, he explained that the formal transfer was carried out with strict confidentiality for security reasons.
“She left Group 8 around midnight. We made all the necessary arrangements with the greatest possible confidentiality to ensure her safety and to guarantee that the transfer from the Mexican Embassy to Group 8 would take place with all the necessary security measures. She boarded the plane sent by the Mexican Air Force, and it departed normally,” he said.
Betssy Chávez, former Peruvian prime minister. Photo: X @ArturoVill7
Espá clarified that Chávez, who was convicted for her involvement in the December 2022 attempted coup, was in good health. He also thanked the institutions and governments involved in the transfer of the former congresswoman and minister on a plane that arrived from Mexico.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank all the parties involved in the departure of Mrs. Betssy Chávez. We were concerned about her safety. We thank and recognize the Government of Brazil, which represented Mexico’s interests in Peru, for contributing to the transfer; the Ministry of Defense for authorizing the Mexican aircraft’s flight to Lima; the Ministry of the Interior for providing security; and, above all, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its officials,” Espá stated.
In separate statements, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that relations with Mexico would be restored. They had been severed at all levels since November 2025, when the Mexican government granted asylum to Chávez, who was prosecuted and later sentenced to 11 years and five months in prison for the failed 2022 coup attempt. Former President Castillo received the same sentence.
The Fujimori government decided to issue the safe-conduct pass in accordance with the Caracas Convention, which regulates diplomatic asylum and requires the state where the asylum seeker is located to issue a safe-conduct pass allowing the person to travel to the country granting asylum without being arrested.
Since November 2025, Chávez had remained at the residence of the Mexican Embassy in Lima, waiting for the Peruvian government to respond. Interim presidents José Jerí and José María Balcázar had previously avoided making a decision on the matter.
It was Jerí’s administration that decided to sever all diplomatic relations with Mexico after learning that the Mexican government had granted asylum to Chávez.
At that time, relations between Peru and Mexico were already being handled at the level of chargé d’affaires, as Peru had expelled the Mexican ambassador and withdrawn its own ambassador from Mexico City in December 2022. This followed the government of then-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador condemning Castillo’s imprisonment and refusing to recognize Vice President Dina Boluarte as his legitimate successor.
However, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry emphasized in its statement that issuing the safe-conduct pass to Betssy Chávez does not mean that Peru recognizes her as a political refugee, as the Mexican government considers her to be.
“The Government of Peru emphatically reiterates that there is no political persecution and that the rule of law, separation of powers, and respect for the guarantees of the administration of justice, including due process, prevail in the country,” the ministry stated.
A police officer stands guard outside the Mexican Embassy after former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chávez entered seeking asylum in Lima, Peru. Photo: AP.
The ministry also recalled that Chávez had been sentenced as a co-author of a crime against state powers and the constitutional order, specifically conspiracy to commit rebellion against the state, under Article 349 of Peru’s Penal Code. She is also being investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s Office for Illicit Enrichment and Constitutional Complaints.
In this regard, the Peruvian government said it would continue consultations initiated in connection with the Chávez case within the Organization of American States (OAS), seeking a possible modification of international treaties. Peru argues that the original purpose of these agreements has been distorted by cases such as the asylum granted by Mexico to the former prime minister.
Foreign Minister Carlos Espá, who had expressed optimism in previous days about normalizing relations with Mexico, said in an interview with Canal N that preparations for Chávez’s departure were carried out under strict confidentiality.
Espá, who was in Colombia to attend the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo De la Espriella, explained that Chávez left Peru at midnight aboard a Mexican Air Force aircraft that landed at Group Air Base No. 8, Peru’s military air base next to the Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima.
The Peruvian foreign minister thanked the diplomatic efforts of both countries and Brazil, which had been handling Mexico’s interests in Peru since the departure of all Mexican diplomatic personnel in November 2025.
Source: eluniversal
