Mexico restores diplomatic ties with Peru after ex-PM Chávez departs

Mexico announced on Friday the restoration of diplomatic relations with Peru, severed in November 2025. The move follows the new Peruvian government's decision to grant a safe-conduct pass to former Prime Minister Betssy Chávez, who is now en route to Mexico.

"With this, relations with Peru will be restored," Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated during her morning press conference. She characterized the decision by President Keiko Fujimori's government as an "act of goodwill" toward Mexico. A Mexican Air Force plane transported Chávez, who served as prime minister under former President Pedro Castillo (2021-2022).

Chávez had been residing at the Mexican Embassy in Lima since November 2025 after Mexico granted her diplomatic asylum. This asylum decision had prompted the Peruvian government at the time to break diplomatic ties with Mexico. She was later sentenced to eleven years and five months in prison for her role in Castillo's failed coup attempt in December 2022.

Peru's granting of the safe-conduct pass fulfills the Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum. However, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry emphasized that the decision does not recognize Chávez as a political refugee, asserting that "there is no political persecution" in Peru. The ministry also stated it would continue advocating for a review of international asylum treaties at the Organization of American States (OAS).

Despite this diplomatic step, Sheinbaum affirmed that Mexico's position regarding Castillo remains unchanged. "We, as always, will continue in defense of President Castillo for the reasons we have stated. They know it. The new government of Peru knows it," she said. The tensions between the two nations originated in December 2022 when then-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador condemned Castillo's imprisonment.