The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, said that the Congress of Peru is responsible for unilaterally breaking the Rio de Janeiro protocol, a treaty that defines the boundaries between the two countries.
The statements were given to international media as The New York Times, The country and The spectatorin relation to a measure linked to the Santa Rosa district, located in the triple Amazon border.
Petro clarified that he does not blame the Peruvian president, Dina Boluarte, or the head of government for this decision. “I am not going to blame the Head of Government because I do not have the itinerary of the bill; it is a decision of the Peruvian Congress.”he said.
In addition, he ruled out that it is a “smoke curtain” to divert the attention of internal issues in Colombia, as the opposition has suggested in his country.
Concern for access to the Amazon
The Colombian president expressed his main concern: that Colombia can lose access to the Amazon River if the arm that passes in front of the municipality of Leticia is dried.
In that case, a land border could be formed with Peru, leaving Colombia without direct connection to the main river of the region.
“We do not want to separate ourselves from the main river of the Amazon; it would be a strategic loss for Colombia, not any loss”he warned.
Support for historical agreements
Asked about tensions with the Boluarte government, Petro avoided referring to Peruvian internal policy, noting that it is not constitutionally empowered to do so. However, he reaffirmed that access to the Amazon is a strategic issue for Colombia and that any disagreement with Peru must be resolved respecting historical agreements, alluding to the Rio de Janeiro protocol.
This treaty, signed in 1942, established the boundaries between the two countries in the Amazon region and remains the current legal framework to resolve territorial disputes.
