For many months in September 1932 to May 1933, Peru and Columbia went to war because of territory disputes far in the Amazon basin. The war lasted for eight months, three weeks and two days. By attacking the harbor town of Letitcia. The Peruvian civilians attacked to demonstrate against the Salomón-Lazano Treaty of 1922. The treaty gave the territory to Columbia. Therefore, the Columbian government wanted to send an army of 1,500 soldiers to beat back the invaders. After learning this the Peruvian government wanted to support the nationals. The first fight took place in early 1933. After months of diplomatic wrangling of a acceptable forum for a peaceful resolution. Peru and Columbia accepted the negotiations by the League of Nations. The peace agreement provided the League with the power to seize control of the territory while the negations resumed.
The war was the result of a unwanted Salomón-Lazano Treaty and the force of heavy tariffs on sugar. The war was then triggered with an internal rebellion in Peru, civilians toke over the city of Iquitos. On September 1, 1932 President Luis Miguel Sanchez send two army groups from the Peruvian Army to Leticia and Tarapaca. Both of the cities are located in the Amazon in which is current south Columbia. The Colombian government ignored most of these actions taken by Peru. President Sanchez thought Columbia didn’t have enough army to defend their border. Columbia had no Columbian military in the Amazon region. Columbia gathered a respectable military within 90 days. After President Luis Miguel Sanchez was assassinated on April 30 1933 in Lima Peru. The new President ordered the troops to Leave Leticia even though the Peruvian troops were not defeated.
This area is known as the “Leticia Dispute.” The area had importance to Columbia because it was Columbia’s only outlet to the Amazon River and further down to the South Atlantic ocean. Leticia was founded by Peru in the 19th century. The area was given to Columbia in a 1922 Treaty. In 1932 a armed band of Peruvians and soldiers grasped Leticia and forced Columbians to run away from Columbia. The Columbian Government responded vigorously by sending an army to defeat the Peruvians and regain the power of Leticia. The countries fought war with men, river gunboats and airplanes in the Amazon River. The war ended because the of a peace deal proposed by the League of Nations. The League was asked to help out with the Brazilian diplomats supporting them. In June 1934, after another peace signing in May, Leticia was returned to Colombia. According to the May pact, Peruvians had to apologize for the invasion, and Peru had to resign the 1922 agreement. The treaty also forced the countries for demilitarization around the surrounding areas of Leticia. The two countries also pledged for nonaggression. To show mutual goodwill in continuing the involvement cooperation, the treaty also required for future negations on trade and tariff issues, riverine transport, population agreements in the area, and both sides had to watch the common border. The treaty was exchanged in September of 1935.
For the first time in history soldiers were dressed in an armband of an international organization. The soldiers had the armband on from the League of Nations as they served the people to keep peace. The soldiers that wore these armbands were Columbian. The soldiers wore these armbands to keep them incognito and that way the Peruvians couldn't leave without appearing to surrender to the Columbians.
Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leticia_Incident
http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/thehistoryofcolombia/p/The-Colombia-Peru-War-Of-1932.htm
http://www.onwar.com/aced/nation/cat/colombia/fleticiawar1932.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia–Peru_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Miguel_Sánchez_Cerro
http://archive.org/stream/sanchezcerroregi00ciccrich/sanchezcerroregi00ciccrich_djvu.txt
http://www.photius.com/countries/colombia/national_security/colombia_national_security_the_leticia_conflict.html
http://es.globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/leticiaperuana.jpg