(Mexico City) Mexico on Saturday denied interfering in Peru’s internal affairs and defended its choice to grant asylum to ousted Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, if necessary, insisting it was part of its diplomatic “tradition”.
Former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, who has been deposed and is being held in remand, has made a formal request for asylum in Mexico, which is contacting the Peruvian government, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced Thursday.
“The right to asylum is a Mexican tradition […] No one has been turned away,” he said on Saturday, referring to the steps he had taken to allow Peruvian authorities to let Mr Castillo leave.
For his part, left-leaning Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — who claimed Peru’s “economic and political elite” had scapegoated Castillo — denied on Saturday meddling in Peru’s internal affairs.
Peru’s foreign ministry described the announcements as “interference”.
“We are expressing our opinion, that’s all,” López Obrador told the press in Monterrey (north) on Saturday.
“But it’s a violation […] Democracy, because if the people elected him (Castillo), why are they going to remove him? He was surprised.
Mr. Castillo was ousted on Wednesday by a vote of parliament that he had just announced was repealed, a maneuver many people immediately described as a “coup”.
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