New Isle, old tensions?

Traduzione di Elena Ciullo

The island of Santa Rosa de Yavarí, which was built in the 1970s from the natural deposit of sediment carried by the Amazon River, is today at the centre of a territorial dispute between Colombia and Peru. Before its formation, there were only two islands in the area - Isla Ronda and Isla Chinería - whose status was established by the Solomon-Lozano Treaty of 1922. The agreement set the boundary at the deepest point of the river and provided that any future disputes would be resolved by a bilateral commission, which was never actually established.

Since its appearance, Santa Rosa has been administered by Peru, which shares with Colombia about 116 kilometers of Amazons. The island now has about 3,000 inhabitants, mostly of Peruvian nationality, and hosts police offices and administrative headquarters under Peruvian jurisdiction.

In recent years, however, Bogotá has begun to claim its sovereignty more decisively. At the base of this renewed attention are the changes in the course of the river: the main flow is moving towards the Peruvian side, while the two Colombian branches are losing their flow. According to studies by the Colombian Navy, by 2030 Colombia is likely to lose direct access to the Amazon in the area of Leticia, its only Amazonian river port.

The tension rose in July 2025, when the Peruvian Congress passed a law that turned Santa Rosa into a district, officially motivated by the need to strengthen sovereignty in a strategic border area and facilitate access to government funds.

In response, Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused Lima of occupying Colombian territory and violating international treaties. As a symbolic action, he transferred to Leticia the celebrations of the Battle of Boyacá, key event of the Colombian independence, reaffirming not to recognize the Peruvian sovereignty on the island, while declaring his intention to avoid an armed clash.

The Peruvian government, for its part, claims that Santa Rosa is an integral part of the island of Chinería, assigned to Peru in 1929. According to Foreign Minister Elmer Schialer, the subsequent detachment of the portion of land that took the name of Santa Rosa has never changed the established boundaries, and the island remained under Peruvian administration without Colombian objections for decades. The authorities in Lima reiterate that the movement of the deepest crevice of the river does not automatically imply the movement of the border.

Bogotá reacted by submitting formal protest notes and calling for the reactivation of the Permanent Joint Commission on the Border (COMPERIF), with the aim of establishing sovereignty over the islands formed after 1929. Petro also warns that the loss of access to the river could jeopardize the economic and cultural survival of Leticia, while academic studies indicate that sedimentation, deforestation and climate change are worsening the situation.

For now, the dispute remains confined to the diplomatic and media level. If and how the parties can reach an agreement, only time will tell.

World International APS - Private Reproduction ® 2025