Peru and Mexico restore diplomatic relations after nine-month asylum dispute

Diplomatic restoration

Peru and Mexico agreed on Friday, 7 August 2026, to restore diplomatic relations that Lima had severed in November 2025 after Mexico granted political asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chávez. The two countries' foreign ministries issued a joint statement citing "historic ties of brotherhood, friendship and cooperation" as the basis for reconciliation, and both governments reaffirmed their respect for international law and the principles of the UN Charter.

The breakthrough followed several weeks of dialogue with Peru's new government under President Keiko Fujimori, who assumed power on 28 July. Granting safe-conduct for Chávez to travel to Mexico had been a condition of Fujimori's government for resuming ties. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum described the decision as an "act of good will" by the right-wing Fujimori administration and welcomed Chávez to Mexico. Peru's foreign minister Carlos Espá, speaking on Peruvian television channel Canal N, said he was "very happy" about the restoration of ties and confirmed that Chávez had been transferred around midnight to a military airport in Lima, where she boarded a Mexican Air Force plane.

The Chávez case

Betssy Chávez served as prime minister under President Pedro Castillo, who was detained in late 2022 after attempting to dissolve Peru's Congress. Chávez was convicted of conspiracy for her alleged role in Castillo's self-coup and sentenced to 11 years and five months in prison. She had taken refuge in the Mexican embassy residence in Lima. In November 2025, Mexico granted her diplomatic asylum, prompting the government of then-president José Jerí to sever diplomatic relations and denounce the move as interference and an "unfriendly act." Peru's Congress also voted to declare Sheinbaum "persona non grata."

Peru's foreign ministry noted that issuing the safe-conduct did not mean it accepted Chávez as a politically persecuted person, as Mexico's administration considers her. Espá cited the 1954 Caracas Convention as the legal framework for the safe-conduct, stating that Peru had proceeded "in full respect" of the convention.

Ongoing tensions over Castillo

Despite the diplomatic restoration, Sheinbaum made clear that Mexico's position on Castillo remains unchanged. Castillo was sentenced in 2025 to more than 11 years in prison for conspiracy for rebellion, a sentence Mexico's government considers illegal. Both Sheinbaum and her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador have repeatedly demanded Castillo's release, arguing that Castillo was the one who suffered a coup by the courts.

“We will continue to defend President Castillo for the reasons we have explained, they know it. The new government of Peru knows it, but well, it is a step.”

Mexico's relationship with Lima had already begun deteriorating after Castillo's fall and detention in late 2022, when Mexico granted asylum to the deposed president's wife and children. The asylum granted to Chávez in November 2025 deepened the rift, leading to the full rupture of diplomatic ties that lasted nine months.