Residents of a remote island claimed by Colombia hope Peru’s government won’t forget them

SANTA ROSA, Peru — A remote island on the Amazon River — now the subject of a territorial dispute between Peru and Colombia — has a single paved road for a main street, which is home to more nightclubs and evangelical churches than any other businesses.

Named after a 16th century saint, Santa Rosa has no running water or sewage system for its 3,000 residents, who build their one-story homes on stilts to prevent them from flooding every year. The people are Peruvians, but they cross the river to neighboring cities in Colombia or Brazil to see a doctor for routine care or an emergency that the rusting local health center cannot handle.

“Our island suffers from many needs,” said Marcos Mera, the owner of a restaurant and dance hall in Santa Rosa, as he wiped sweat from his forehead and set up tables.

While the struggles of Mera and his neighbors are not new, their hometown has suddenly become the center of attention for the Peruvian government. The surge in interest even garnered a presidential visit after Colombian President Gustavo Petro disavowed Peruvian jurisdiction over Santa Rosa this month.

Peru insists that it owns Santa Rosa Island based on treaties about a century old, but Colombia disputes that ownership because the island had not yet emerged from the Amazon River at the time.

Residents see themselves as proud Peruvians even though they rely on other countries for basic needs. Now, they hope their government will not forget them again, a sentiment that President Dina Boluarte acknowledged during a recent visit.

“It’s true that, for too long, our border populations have not received the attention they deserve,” Boluarte said Friday during her first visit to the island.

Recent tensions between Peru and Colombia have escalated into a series of incidents, including the arrests of three Colombian men who were on the island doing land surveying work. The arrests, described by Petro as “kidnapping,” prompted a dispute over the workers’ right to be in Santa Rosa. They marked the third binational incident in the area since Petro denied Peru’s jurisdiction over Santa Rosa Island in early August.

“We are Peruvians, and if necessary, we will defend our island with pride,” said José Morales outside his currency-exchange house where he trades Peruvian soles, Colombian pesos and U.S. dollars. Residents often carry all three currencies, plus Brazilian reals, at once.

Most residents of Santa Rosa collect rainwater, which they filter through a white cloth and then boil, often using wood-burning stoves. Reaching the island takes a two-hour flight from Colombia’s capital, Bogota, followed by a five-minute boat ride. In contrast, the trip from Peru’s capital, Lima, involves a two-hour flight followed by a 15-hour boat journey.

The parents, children and grandchildren of many Santa Rosa residents live in Leticia, Colombia, or Tabatinga, Brazil. Some have also buried their loved ones in those cities too, as Santa Rosa does not have a cemetery. Several residents said they have a cordial relationship with people in Colombia and Brazil.

“We live peacefully, sharing culture, gastronomy and good ideas,” Mera said before criticizing Colombian politicians, saying he thinks they “have made a mistake.”

Some, however, are going as far as thanking Colombia’s president for drawing interest to Santa Rosa.

“I have to thank Petro for speaking out like that,” nurse Rudy Ahuanari said. “In all these blessed years, no minister had ever shown interest in us, but now he has. We were truly forgotten — not even God remembered.”

Briceño writes for the Associated Press.