Peru’s Congress has declared Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum “persona non grata” and barred her from entering the country, in a symbolic move that follows the severing of diplomatic ties with Mexico over a political asylum case. The vote on Thursday was 63 to 34 in favour of the designation.
The action came after Mexico granted political asylum to former Peruvian prime minister Betssy Chavez, who fled to the Mexican embassy in Lima earlier this week. Chavez was given shelter inside the embassy after she sought refuge amid ongoing criminal proceedings in Peru.
The label “persona non grata” is normally applied to foreign diplomats and carries connotations of formal rebuke. Fernando Rospigliosi, president of Peru’s Congress, said the vote was intended to show support for the Peruvian government’s decision to break off relations with Mexico.
During parliamentary debate, MP Ernesto Bustamante, a member of the Congressional Foreign Relations Committee, accused Sheinbaum of links to drug traffickers and said she was improperly intervening in Peruvian affairs. Peru’s foreign minister, Hugo de Zela, described Mexico’s decision to grant asylum as an “unfriendly act” that amounted to interference.
Mexico’s foreign ministry has defended the asylum grant as consistent with international law and said it does not constitute intervention in Peru’s internal affairs. So far, Lima has not granted safe passage for Chavez to leave the embassy and travel to Mexico.
Chavez, a former culture minister who briefly served as prime minister under Pedro Castillo in late 2022, is on trial over an alleged plot tied to Castillo’s attempt that month to dissolve Congress. She faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted and has denied involvement. She was detained from June 2023 until her release on bail in September, and is currently contesting the charges while under trial.