The Peruvian government denied on Aug. 5 an alleged appropriation of Colombian territory in response to statements by Colombian President Gustavo Petro regarding Santa Rosa Island in the Amazon region.
The Colombian president said islands have appeared north of the current deepest line, and “the Peruvian government has just appropriated by law and placed the capital of a municipality on land that, by treaty, should belong to Colombia.”
The Peruvian Foreign Ministry stated that the municipality of Santa Rosa is part of Peruvian Chinería Island, in accordance with the international legal boundaries of the Treaty of Limits and Free Fluvial Navigation signed by Peru and Colombia in 1922. It was assigned to Peru in 1929 by the Mixed Demarcation Commission (COMPERIF) established in the treaty, and has therefore been subject to Peruvian national jurisdiction ever since.
In a statement, Schialer’s office said that “the recent districtization of Santa Rosa de Loreto, established by a supreme decree on July 3, does not affect Colombian territory and is intended to provide basic services to its citizens.”
He added, “Peruvians will always be open to dialogue with the Republic of Colombia. We are historic countries; we have been united by our past, and we must remain united in the future.”
The Peruvian foreign minister explained that the municipality of Santa Rosa emerged as a natural division of the southern part of Chinería Island, separated from the municipality of Leticia, Colombia, by the Amazon River. However, over time, the branch of the Amazon River that separated them dried up, uniting the two islands.
The foreign minister lamented the Colombian authorities’ statements on the matter and stated that “Santa Rosa is Peruvian, just as Leticia is Colombian.”
He also said that “Peru will not cede even a millimeter of its territory.”