Peru’s President-elect Keiko Fujimori has said she intends to restore diplomatic relations with Mexico, signalling a possible end to months of strained ties between the two countries.
Speaking after a public event in Lima, Fujimori said her incoming administration would seek to rebuild relations.
“On my part, there will be every intention to restore relations between Peru and Mexico,” she said.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated in November after Mexico granted political asylum to former Peruvian Prime Minister Betssy Chavez, a close ally of former President Pedro Castillo.
Castillo was removed from office in December 2022 after announcing plans to dissolve Congress and govern by decree, a move widely condemned as an attempted self-coup. He was subsequently impeached, arrested and later sentenced to more than 11 years in prison on charges including rebellion.
Mexico argued that Castillo had intended to seek asylum at its embassy in Lima before his arrest and later granted asylum to his family. It also extended protection to Chavez, who resigned from Castillo’s cabinet during the political crisis and later sought refuge at the Mexican embassy.
Peru condemned Mexico’s actions as interference in its internal affairs, describing the asylum granted to Chavez as an “unfriendly act.” The dispute escalated after Peru severed diplomatic relations with Mexico, declared Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum persona non grata and barred her from entering the country.
Mexico rejected Peru’s response as excessive, maintaining that granting asylum was consistent with international law and its longstanding humanitarian policy.
Responding to Fujimori’s remarks, President Sheinbaum said she would wait for further developments before commenting on the future of bilateral relations.
“They broke off relations because we said former President Castillo is being held illegally. That remains our position,” Sheinbaum told reporters.
Sheinbaum and her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, have consistently argued that Castillo was the victim of a political coup.
Fujimori, who narrowly lost to Castillo in Peru’s 2021 presidential election, secured victory in this year’s presidential runoff on June 7 after her fourth bid for the presidency. She is scheduled to be inaugurated on July 28, Peru’s Independence Day.
