The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, confirmed this Thursday that Pedro Castillo contacted them to request political asylum at the Mexican Embassy in Lima, however, he was intercepted and detained by the authorities, who have charged him with an alleged crime of rebellion after announcing the dissolution of Congress and the establishment of a government of exception.
López Obrador pointed out that he was warned that Castillo was on his way to the Embassy, but he regretted that «surely they had already tapped his telephone», so that «he could not even leave» and «they arrested him immediately».
«Shortly after, they took the Embassy with police and also with citizens», said the President, who informed that he asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, to speak with the Mexican Ambassador in Peru, Pablo Monroy, so that «they would open the door for him, in accordance with our tradition of asylum».
The Mexican president demanded the Peruvian authorities to respect the human rights» of Castillo, to «act with true legality» and «to protect his family». On the other hand, he pointed out that for the moment they will not break relations with Peru, although he has asked to «wait a few days».
«We are going to wait a few days, I think it is the most appropriate thing to do. It is not our purpose to intervene in attempts, we regret very much that these things happen, because the people suffer», he said in his morning appearance before the press.
As other leaders of the region have done, such as the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, López Obrador also warned that what happened in Peru, could already be seen in similar events in countries such as Brazil and Argentina.
«It is important to learn the lesson, because this is being applied in different parts, they are soft coups, it is no longer military intervention, it is to go with the control of the information media managed by the oligarchs of the countries», he said.
The objective of these maneuvers, he denounced, is «to undermine the legally and legitimately constituted authorities, especially if they are people who suffer from the people, or who want to do something for the benefit of the people and do not belong to the elites».
«The more the behavior of the elites is detached from the feelings of the people, the better, because many times here and everywhere, the decisions of the elites have nothing to do with the feelings and the benefit of the people», said López Obrador.
This Wednesday, Peru’s Congress approved the dismissal of Pedro Castillo shortly after he announced the closure of Parliament and declared a government of exception, all this amid strong political pressures and investigations of alleged corruption against him, since he assumed power in July 2021.
After being arrested, Castillo has been charged with the crime of rebellion. His position, as required by the Constitution, has been assumed by the former vice-president Dina Boluarte.
