Peru’s President Defends Amazon Island Amid Colombia Clash

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte made a bold visit to Santa Rosa Island in the Amazon River on Friday, reaffirming Peru’s sovereignty over the disputed territory amid escalating tensions with Colombia. The visit, her first to the island, followed Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s recent rejection of Peru’s jurisdiction over the area, sparking a diplomatic row.

Boluarte, joined by security chiefs and parliament members, sang Peru’s national anthem as locals waved red-and-white flags. “Peru’s sovereignty is not in dispute; the district of Santa Rosa de Loreto is Peruvian and will remain so,” she declared, addressing what she called “unacceptable actions” straining ties with Colombia.

The dispute intensified after Peruvian police arrested three Colombian men on Tuesday for unauthorized land surveying on the island. Colombia demanded their immediate release, with a Peruvian judge freeing one but detaining the others for seven days, investigating them for allegedly undermining national sovereignty. Petro labeled the arrests a “kidnapping,” claiming the men—a surveyor and a boat driver—were measuring water depths for a pier expansion in Leticia, Colombia.

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This marks the third incident since Petro challenged Peru’s claim on August 5. A Colombian military aircraft flew over the island on August 7, and on August 12, former Medellín mayor Daniel Quintero planted a Colombian flag there, later removed by Peruvian police. The 3,000 residents of Santa Rosa, which emerged in the Amazon River last century, are caught in the crossfire of this territorial feud.

Peru bases its claim on century-old treaties, while Colombia argues the island’s later emergence invalidates those agreements. As diplomatic friction grows, Boluarte’s visit underscores Peru’s resolve to assert control over the contested island.

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