Colombia Accuses Peru Of Annexing A Disputed Island In The Amazon

Colombia Accuses Peru of Annexing a Disputed Island in the Amazon Colombia Colombian President Gustavo Petro this week accused the country’s South American neighbor, Peru, of unilaterally annexing Santa Rosa Island in the Amazon River, reviving a long-standing disagreement between the two neighboring countries over sovereignty and river border demarcation, Al Jazeera reported. Colombia’s reaction followed a vote in Peru’s Congress in June, which turned Santa Rosa Island into its own district within Peru’s northeastern Loreto province. Peru argued that it acted in accordance with international law and that the move was necessary to ensure Santa Rosa received public funding and could collect taxes. According to Petro, Peru’s claims to the island could cut off the southern Colombian city of Leticia, home to 60,000 people, from accessing the Amazon River, disrupting travel and trade. Colombia and Peru have been debating over the control of Santa Rosa Island for nearly a century. Peru claims control based on treaties from 1922 and 1929 and has administered the territory for decades, the Associated Press noted. Colombia, however, insists that Santa Rosa is not subject to those treaties as it had not yet emerged from the Amazon River when they were signed. It also argued that the treaties define the border between the two countries along the deepest part of the Amazon River and that newly formed islands like Santa Rosa have appeared on the Colombian side of that boundary. The Amazon River, one of the longest waterways in the world, carries more water than any other river. Its strong currents constantly shift sediment across the basin, causing islands to form or disappear over time. Santa Rosa is one of these islands, showcasing forests, farmlands, and the village of Santa Rosa de Yavarí, which has fewer than 1,000 residents. The local economy relies on tourism due to the Island’s location along the Amazon.