Mexico will not break diplomatic relations with Peru: AMLO

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said this Wednesday that Mexico will not break diplomatic relations with Peru after the government of the South American country expelled the Mexican ambassador the day before for interference in the internal affairs of that nation, after the dismissal of the former president Pedro Castillo.

On Tuesday, Peru declared the Mexican ambassador in Lima “persona non grata,” Paul Monroyand gave him 72 hours to leave the Andean country, in an escalation of the diplomatic crisis between both Latin American nations.

“Regret the decision made by the government of Peru, a government that is highly questioned for its behavior (…), such as declaring our ambassador in Peru persona non grata,” said the Mexican president in his usual morning conference.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided not to break relations (diplomatic with Peru),” López Obrador added. “We are not going to expel anyone. We have not done it nor will it be done.”

Minutes before, Castillo’s family arrived in Mexico City under asylum and was received by AMLO government officials. The former Peruvian president is being held in Lima after being ousted by Congress in early December after trying to illegally dissolve it and reorganize the judiciary.

Castillo had sought asylum in the Embassy of Mexico in Lima shortly after announcing that he would close parliament, but was detained by police and is currently serving 18 months in pretrial detention while under investigation for “rebellion and conspiracy.”

“We will always defend the right to asylum, it is part of our foreign policy,” AMLO said, before specifying that Castillo’s wife arrived in the Mexican capital, lilia paredes, and their two children. The former first lady is being investigated by the Peruvian justice for allegedly integrating a money laundering network that would involve the former president.

Mexico has a long tradition of granting asylum to various politicians and personalities, among the best known are the Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and the Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel; and, more recently, the former Bolivian president was granted asylum Evo Morales.