Betssy Chávez was prosecuted for an attempted coup d’état and is taking refuge in the Mexican embassy in Lima
This Friday (21), the court ordered five months of preventive detention and issued an international warrant to detain the former prime minister, who was being prosecuted for an attempted coup d’état and was taking refuge in the Mexican embassy in Lima.
Peru broke off diplomatic relations with the country because it considered that the asylum granted to Betssy constituted interference in its internal affairs. The former head of government is accused of participating in the attempted coup d’état by former president Pedro Castillo in December 2022.
“It is decided to order preventive detention for a period of 5 months against the accused Betssy Chávez Chino and the search and arrest warrants at national and international level in relation to the accused”, indicated the Judiciary in a resolution.
Judge Juan Carlos Checkley argued in the resolution that the danger of escape is “palpable”, as is the risk of “frustration” of the oral trial.
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office indicated, in turn, that it obtained preventive detention for Betssy “for the crime of rebellion and, alternatively, conspiracy, to the detriment of the State”.
Following the arrest order, Peruvian police reinforced security at the Mexican embassy. The police commander, General Óscar Arriola, stressed that his institution respects the legal framework of asylum and ruled out any incursion into the Mexican residence.
Hours before the arrest order, Prime Minister Ernesto Álvarez had declared that Peru “respects international law and is not capable of carrying out violence, much less of violating international laws regarding the immunity of diplomatic headquarters”.
Betssy, 36, has been on trial since March and could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. She has been at the Mexican embassy residence in Lima for 18 days, awaiting safe conduct to leave the country.
The Peruvian government announced, on November 7, its intention to request a review of the rules on diplomatic asylum in the region, after Mexico granted protection to Betssy.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated after Castillo’s ouster, when Mexico granted asylum to the former president’s wife and two children. Both governments have since recalled their ambassadors.
*With information from AFP
Published by Nátaly Tenório
