Peru's impeached former president asks Mexico for asylum

Mexico's government is in talks with Peru's former President Pedro Castillo to grant asylum to the impeached leader who now faces criminal charges, Mexican officials confirmed.

The big picture: Castillo met with Mexico's ambassador to Peru while in detention in Lima Thursday, per tweets from Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who shared a copy of Castillo's legal request for asylum in the country that stated he was "at grave risk" in the Peruvian capital.

Castillo made his first court appearance on Thursday and was ordered to remain detained for seven days while prosecutors investigate the case against him, per Reuters.

Context: Castillo was arrested Wednesday after he announced he was dissolving Congress as lawmakers debated whether to impeach him.

The 53-year-old left-wing former school teacher faces criminal charges of "rebellion and conspiracy," which he denies.

What they're saying: In the letter to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Castillo's lawyer wrote that he should consider granting the former president asylum "in the face of the unfounded persecution of justice bodies."