Colombia–Peru border
Mostly the Putumayo river through the Amazon rainforest, then a corridor that gives Colombia a foothold on the Amazon itself at Leticia. After Peruvians seized Leticia in 1932, the two countries fought, and then the League of Nations ran the town for a year.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 29 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Colombia →Peru →
A river border and a port
The Putumayo rises in the Colombian Andes near Pasto and flows southeast through tropical rainforest, forming most of the border between Colombia and Ecuador and between Colombia and Peru before it enters Brazil and joins the Amazon.[1]
Leticia, on the Amazon where Colombia, Brazil and Peru meet, was founded by Peruvians in 1867 as a military outpost and river port.[2] Colombia and Peru signed a treaty on frontiers and free inland navigation on 24 March 1922, and by 1932 Leticia was a Colombian river port.[3]
The Leticia crisis
On the night of 31 August to 1 September 1932, a group of armed Peruvians occupied the Colombian river port of Leticia. By 6 January 1933 the Peruvian army had moved in too, and fighting between the two countries’ forces in February left Leticia under Peruvian control.[3]
Colombia asked the League of Nations Council to meet on 17 February 1933. On 1 March the Council proposed a League commission to run Leticia, backed by an international force. Colombia accepted, Peru at first refused, and the two countries finally agreed to it on 25 May 1933.[3]
A League of Nations town
The League Commission for Leticia took charge on 19 June 1933. It had three commissioners, a staff of 48 people from Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Spain, and a police force of Colombian troops, first 50 and later 150, serving under the commission. It flew a white flag reading “League of Nations Leticia Commission”.[3]
On 19 June 1934 the commission handed the administration of Leticia formally to Colombia, and its work ended.[3] The town remains Colombian and is reached by river and air, not by road.[2]
Timeline
1867
Leticia founded
Peruvians set up a military outpost and port on the Amazon.[2]
192224 March 1922
Frontier treaty
Colombia and Peru agree their border and river navigation.[3]
19321 September 1932
Leticia seized
Armed Peruvians occupy the Colombian port.[3]
1933February 1933
Fighting
Colombian and Peruvian forces clash.[3]
193325 May 1933
League deal
Both sides accept a League commission for Leticia.[3]
193419 June 1934
Handed to Colombia
The League Commission ends its year in charge.[3]
More borders
Sources
- [1]Putumayo River · Encyclopaedia Britannica (Wayback Machine copy)
- [2]Leticia · Encyclopaedia Britannica (Wayback Machine copy)
- [3]
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.