The border conflict between Colombia and Peru over the so-called Santa Rosa Island in the Amazon River is the latest chapter in the strained relations between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
Santa Rosa is a remote location where the borders of three countries meet: Colombia, Peru, and Brazil, along the world’s mightiest river, the Amazon.
This week, statements by the Colombian president reaffirming sovereignty over the territory reignited a long history of disputes between Colombia and Peru, recalling a nearly century-old conflict now centered on a territory inhabited by approximately 3,000 people.
Reaching Santa Rosa involves traveling hundreds of miles along the Amazon River. The main route connects from Iquitos, the capital of Loreto (Peru), and may take 15 to 18 hours by ferry within Peruvian territory, though trips in small boats can extend to three days under adverse weather conditions.
When traveling from Colombia, the island is less than 10 minutes by boat from Leticia, the capital of the Amazonas department on the Colombian side. This uniqueness strains relations between the two countries and shapes the lives of Peruvians whose daily existence faces Colombia.
When the current borders between Colombia and Peru were defined in 1922, Santa Rosa Island did not exist, which is why its sovereignty was not explicitly established. The Amazon River is obviously not stable, and sediment gradually formed this island a little over 50 years ago.
Santa Rosa Island and the revival of the Colombia-Peru border dispute
On the banks of the majestic Amazon River, at the tri-border area between Colombia, Peru, and Brazil, lies a small piece of land just a few square miles in size that has fueled years of quiet diplomatic tensions: Santa Rosa Island.
This remote enclave, situated directly across from the Colombian city of Leticia (capital of Amazonas department), officially belongs to Peru. However, its strategic location and the daily lives of its inhabitants reveal a more complex and occasionally contentious reality.
Santa Rosa is a river island inhabited by about 3,000 people. From its stilt houses to its small boardwalk and precarious infrastructure struggling against the river’s floods, the island seems suspended in time.
Its residents, many engaged in informal trade, fishing, and river transport, live a daily life blending elements of Colombian and Peruvian culture, although on paper they fall directly under the municipality of Mariscal Ramón Castilla in Peru’s Loreto department.
Nevertheless, its physical proximity to Leticia – just minutes by boat – makes economic and social ties with Colombia inevitable. “For us, going to Leticia is like crossing the street,” explains Rosa Alvarado, a merchant born on Santa Rosa. “We shop there, many children go to school there, and the hospitals are there,” she states.
In fact, many families rely on Colombian services due to the Peruvian state’s limited presence on the island and the proximity of Leticia, the region’s main city, which is under Colombian sovereignty.
Dispute between official sovereignty and real life for Santa Rosa island inhabitants
This everyday connection has caused friction. On several occasions, Colombia has raised concerns about informal land use, goods smuggling, human trafficking, and even the irregular movement of fuel and drugs.
Santa Rosa, despite its size, has been identified by authorities in both countries as a vulnerable point for illegal activities due to its position within an international river corridor and weak institutional oversight.
Over the years, friction has occurred between the public forces of both countries. In 2019, for example, a Peruvian police operation against smuggling ended with a neighborhood protest denouncing abuses and criticizing Colombia’s lack of control over informal boat traffic.
The Foreign Ministries in Lima and Bogotá then limited themselves to issuing diplomatic statements without major consequences, but the episode highlighted the underlying tension.
Overcoming its geographic isolation is the challenge facing its 3,000 inhabitants, beyond political disputes and nationalist posturing. In this regard, the Peruvian flag was raised for the first time in 1974 following the formal and permanent occupation of the islet. The ceremony, which included Brazilian representation, saw no Colombian participation – Colombia has historically claimed the island as its own.
A remote island sustained by fishing and limited tourism
Fishing remains the primary income source for Santa Rosa Island’s 3,000 inhabitants, a place where cuisine is one of its defining attractions.
However, tourism, though modest, also provides additional income for those offering lodging, boat tours, and culinary experiences featuring typical dishes like tacacho, juane, cecina, inchicapi, and palmito salad. According to the Peruvian government, visitors are also drawn by the native Ticuna culture present in the area.
There is no potable water for the entire population, and the electricity supply is unreliable. This forces residents to store water and limit activities, especially at night.
Although the island has some basic health, education, and administrative facilities, service provision is severely limited by its isolation.
Some children attend both the local school and educational institutions in Leticia (Colombia) or Tabatinga (Brazil), where families seek alternatives due to a lack of local resources and school places.
Nevertheless, Peruvian flags are permanently displayed on the island, reflecting its inhabitants’ sense of belonging to Peru, despite repeated complaints by many residents about the “situation of abandonment” by Peruvian authorities.
A century of border conflicts between Colombia and Peru in a triple frontier
The border conflict is not new. Following the signing of the Salomón-Lozano Treaty in 1922, ratified in 1933 after the armed conflict between Colombia and Peru, the current borders were established. The river area currently occupied by Santa Rosa Island remained on the Peruvian side, while Leticia and other riverside zones were awarded to Colombia.
But the Amazon River’s changing nature, which sometimes alters its channel or shifts islands, has prompted intermittent territorial challenges, especially when economic interests are involved.
“Santa Rosa is a peripheral territory for both Peru and Colombia, but its geopolitical value is immense,” asserts Amazonian historian Alfredo Torres. “It’s an observation point for what happens in the planet’s largest green lung and, simultaneously, a thermometer measuring state absence in border regions,” argues the scholar.
Today, Santa Rosa still awaits a solution guaranteeing development, security, and respect for its hybrid identity. Meanwhile, its inhabitants navigate between two worlds, using two currencies – the Colombian peso and the Peruvian sol – listening to radio stations from both countries, and crossing a river that connects more than it divides.
The constant exchange of goods is undeniable: rice, chicken, sugar, salt, and oil often arrive from Brazil; other products, like eggs and vegetables, are transported from Iquitos. This, combined with the circulation of three currencies (Peruvian sol, Colombian peso, and Brazilian real), defines the presence of the three borders on the islet.
Peruvian or Colombian, the 3,000 inhabitants of Santa Rosa Island seek to improve their precarious living conditions and access opportunities in health and education, in a place seemingly frozen in time amidst the dense Amazonian atmosphere shared by Colombia, Peru, and Brazil.
Related: Colombia and Peru Will Hold Summit to Resolve Amazon Border Dispute.