Peru's Congress deems Mexican leader unwelcome, regional split deepens

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators stand outside the Mexican embassy after Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that Mexico has granted asylum to the family of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, in Lima, Peru December 20, 2022. REUTERS/Liz Tasa

LIMA (Reuters) - Lawmakers in Peru voted on Thursday to declare Mexico's leftist president unwelcome in the South American country, citing what they described as his meddling in Peru's internal affairs and marking a deepening diplomatic split in the region.

The declaration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as "persona non grata" in Peru makes him the second Latin American leader to be slapped with this status.