Before his arrest, the still president of Peru, Pedro Castillo, called the National Palace to request asylum in the Mexican embassy, a request that Andrés Manuel López Obrador accepted.
“He spoke here to the office to be told that he was going to the embassy, but surely they had already tapped his phone, that he was going to apply for asylum, that if they opened the door of the embassy. I looked for Marcelo Ebrard, informed him and told him to talk to the ambassador and to open the door to the embassy as an attachment to our tradition of asylum,” he said.
However, the asylum no longer materialized since soon police and citizens surrounded the embassy.
President @lopezobrador_ said Thursday that former #Perú President Pedro Castillo was seeking asylum at the Mexican embassy before being detained.
The president asked that his human rights be respected and that he act with true legality. pic.twitter.com/kBbZC6DJ8e
— Political Animal (@Pajaropolitico) December 8, 2022
The president assured that Mexico’s foreign policy is governed by the principle of non-intervention, however he criticized what happened in Peru.
“We are very sorry for what happened because since Pedro Castillo won legally and legitimately he was a victim of harassment, of confrontation. His adversaries did not accept, especially the economic and political elites of that country, that he will govern, among other things, and that is what I regret most because they considered him a serrano,” he said.
Read: Pedro Castillo: 3 keys behind the political chaos in Peru that led to the impeachment and arrest of the president
“But it is important to take the lesson, because this is being applied in different parts, they are soft blows (…) It is no longer military intervention, it is going with the control of the media, which manage them, the oligarchs of the countries, to undermine, legally and legitimately constituted authorities, more if it is people emerged from the people or who want to do something for the benefit of the people and do not belong to the elites. He declared this morning.
Yesterday, the now former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo announced the dissolution of Congress and installed a “government of exception.”
However, the armed forces and police did not support him, and Congress ignored his decision and proceeded to remove him.
Since assuming the presidency in July 2021, Castillo has been singled out by Congress and prosecutors, who accuse him of running an alleged “criminal organization” that distributes public contracts in exchange for money.
Pedro Castillo was arrested after being charged with the crime of rebellion and conspiracy.
What we do at Animal Político requires professional journalists, teamwork, dialogue with readers and something very important: independence. You can help us keep going. Be part of the team.
Subscribe to Animal Político, receive benefits and support free journalism#YoSoyAnimal
