Colombia/Peru: Where Rivers Redraw Nations: Amazon Island Dispute Tests Peru-Colombia Ties

Jan 13, 2026 | Neil Giardino
Anadolu Agency
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Home to roughly 3,000 people, Santa Rosa has recently become the focus of a territorial rift between the two nations, raising questions of sovereignty, river access, and the flow of commerce along the Earth’s largest river. That is why Colombian officials are watching the Amazon’s shifting currents with concern. As the river reshapes the bank, it threatens to erase Colombia’s principal access to the waterway here, critical in moving commerce and people throughout the Amazon basin.Just across the river in Colombia, at Leticia’s main port, the region’s interwoven economies are on full display. Vendors sell Peruvian-grown fruits and vegetables, Brazilian grains, and fish hauled in from the shared waters of the Amazon. Severed from Colombia’s interior, affordable access to staple products is heavily dependent on cross-border trade and river access.