The Leticia Incident

The Colombian - Peruvian Border Conflict of 1932-1934

Exhibit Focus This thematic exhibit explores the territorial dispute between Colombia and Peru over control of the city of Leticia in Department of Amazonas and the League of Nations involvement in resolving the conflict. Introduction Local Peruvians, angry that Leticia had been ceded to Colombia in 1922, invaded Leticia to regain control of the territory. After nine months of fighting, Colombia and Peru agreed to abide by League arbitration to settle the quarrel. The League sent a Commission for the Administration of the Territory of Leticia to the area for one year. During peace treaty negotiations, a neutral military force under the Commission’s supervision policed the disputed territory. Exhibit Development The story-line progresses chronologically from the initial invasion of Colombian territory by Peru, through peace negotiations, to the League’s final decision to award the city and territory to Colombia. Commission for the Territory of Leticia, Colombia to Washington, D.C. U.S.A,, December 1933 Importance and Rarity via Bogotá, Colombia, 27 December 1933, League of Nations embossed seal on flap This was the earliest neutral military force under Surface rate paid by Pan American Union Postal Convention postage paid indicia (violet box) international control for peace-keeping purposes. It Eight recorded examples of official mail sent within Pan American Union countries remains the model for modern peace-keeping. Only twenty-six examples of official mail to and from the Colombia - Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores Commission are recorded. Six are in this exhibit. CORRESPONDENCIA OFICIAL Colombia Franquicia Postal Panamericana

Pan American postage paid indicia Leticia Peru Exhibit Plan Brazil The Port City of Leticia History of the port city The Combatants Nations and personalities engaging in conflict Death of a President Assassination and resulting decline of interest in the war The Peacemakers Nations and personalities engaging in peace efforts The Commission Commission arrival and activities Colombia’s Responsibilities Methods and routes to deliver the mail Map of South America Incoming Commission Mail League of Nations mail to the Commission with location South Outgoing Commission Mail Official Mail from the Commission of Leticia, America Colombia The League of Nations’ Decision The final determination of Leticia’s status

Thematic text is san-serif. Philatelic text is italicized. Significant items are highlighted with bright blue mats. The Port City of Leticia

Leticia is the capital of the Department of Amazonas, a trapezoidal shaped area on the banks of the Amazon river. It lies at a point called the Three Borders where the countries of Colombia, Brazil and Peru meet. Founded by Peruvian ship captain Benigno Bustamante in 1867, he named the city San Antonio. Later that same year, the city was renamed Leticia by Peruvian engineer Manuel Charón for Miss Leticia Smith of Iquitos, his wife.

Iquitos, Peru Waterlow & Sons, Ltd. Specimen punch hole

Peru Colombia

(Department of Amazonas

Disputed area of the Amazon River port city of Leticia Iquitos Airmail value Leticia

Brazil Disputed area of the port city of Leticia Area enlargement 100 Miles Airmail value

Leticia was a Peruvian port city until 1922 when border incidents resulted in the Salomón-Lozano treaty ceding the Department of Amazonas to Colombia. In exchange, Peru’s claim to an area disputed with Ecuador was acknowledged by Colombia.

Reduced copy of card reverse

Fabio Lozano Torrijos Post card depicting Peruvian soldiers and military post in Leticia, Peru, Co-author of the Salomón-Lozano Treaty Iquitos, Peru to Paris France, 22 August 1920, 5¢ foreign surface post card rate (Leticia had no postal facility, mail was sent from Iquitos) The Port City of Leticia

Peruvian Augusto B. Leguia Coat of Arms Colombian Department of Amazonas Overprinted Specimen Inverted overprint Coat of Arms The disputed area with security hole

Leticia became part of Colombia under the Salomón-Lozano Treaty treaty, signed in secret by Peruvian President Augusto Leguia (1863-1932). It was unpopular with a Peruvian population of ~200 in the area.

Coffee bean picker Imperforate proof pair

Coffee Bananas for export were shipped from the port of Leticia Tourism publicity label Airmail issue of 1932, plate number block of 10, re-value overprint 15 January 1939 Printing dates for plates 1135 (1932), 10339 (1934), 12231 (1936) &12307 (1938)

The port city of Leticia was extremely important for Colombia’s exportation of produce like coffee beans and bananas or their natural resources such as oil, minerals and gold. Colombians were very concerned that if Leticia were to be returned to Peru, they would no longer have a port on the Amazon River for shipping and commerce.

Carmine color proof Red color proof Oil (1935) Gold (1932) Gold (1935) on grayish paper on cream paper American Bank Note Waterlow & Sons American Bank Note The Combatants

As in 1922, a local war between Colombia and Peru erupted again in September 1932 when sixty-five armed Peruvian land owners occupied public buildings in Leticia. They expelled or incarcerated 18 police and city officials. Peruvian President Luís Cerro was aware of the lack of Colombian military in the area and decided to support the Peruvian civilians with military action by deploying ground, air and naval forces.

Luís Cerro Peruvian President 1934 Vermilion re-issue

Luís Cerro, President of Peru 1932 Orange-red specimen block (design depicted living person Gunboat Marañón and issue was withdrawn) Cruiser Almirante Grau Airmail value Block of four

The Peruvian Foreign Ministry argued that the entire affair was only a regional issue to be solved locally.

Gunboat America Centavos currency before 1985

Peruvian Air Force Waterlow & Sons, Ltd. Specimen overprint (bottom center)

The Peruvian aircraft bombed the Colombian gunboat Córdova but the bombs missed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lima, Peru to Brooklyn, New York, 17 May 1932 Gunboat America ship or didn’t explode. 20¢ foreign surface letter rate plus 20¢ certificate fee Centimos currency after 1984 The Combatants

Once word of the invasion reached Bogotá, Colombian President Enrique Olaya Herrerra sent 1500 soldiers to repel the invaders. The Air Force was immediately composed of Junkers F-13 seaplanes appropriated from the Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aereos (SCADTA). They included newly mounted machine guns and were flown by experienced pilots. R - Registration (red) A - Alemania (Germany)

Enrique Olaya Herrerra

In addition to Junkers F-13 aircraft, the Colombian Air Force used three Dornier Wals for supply transport and reconnaissance. F-13 delivered with wheels F-13 after conversion to floats Mis-perforation (top)

Dornier Wal transport seaplane

It took a short while to organize a naval response as the trip over the top of South America to the mouth of the Amazon River took three months. The flotilla finally arrived in December 1932.

Colombian Cruiser Marisoal Sucre to Brooklyn, New York, 2 June 1933 Navy cruiser Cartagena Mailed shortly after cease-fire declared in May 1933. Colombian War Fleet censorship cachet Imperforate Ship captain to his wife and marked airmail, but fee is not paid, Surface letter rate 5¢ Death of a President

President Luís Cerro made a political speech at the Lima Hippodrome to new Army cadets on 30 April 1933. Shortly after the speech, a dissenting member of the opposition party in the Peruvian Congress, assassinated President Cerro as he left the site. The assassin was killed immediately by police and military Congress Building, Lima forces in attendance. With the assassination Airmail value of President Cerro, the political impetus for Overprint U.P.U. 1874-1949 the war disappeared quickly in Peru.

Luís Cerro, Peruvian President Revolutionary Union benefit label

General Oscar Raymundo Benavides Larrea (1876- 1945) was unanimously proclaimed president by the Peruvian Congress and worked quickly to end the resource draining war.

Hippodrome (Race Track), Lima Lima, Peru to New York, New York, 3 June 1934, 4¢ foreign post card rate

Oscar Benavides Combat continued into May 1933 unabated. Peruvian President Brazil, acting as an unbiased intermediary, sent Brazilian diplomat Candido Mariano de Silva Rondon to negotiate an interim cease-fire agreement. Both sides agreed and retreated to neutral positions. All F-13 flights were restricted to reconnaissance and transportation only.

Junkers F-13 on reconnaissance Candido Mariano Specimen overprinted Muster de Silva Rondon The Peacemakers

A delayed agreement between the two countries was struck two weeks later with Alfonso López Pumarejo (1886-1959), leader of the Colombian Liberal Party. The agreement specified the League of Nations would mediate the conflict. Both Colombia and Peru, as members of the League of Nations, then appointed the League to act as mediator in finding a permanent resolution to the conflict

Alfonso López Pumarejo and to develop a treaty both countries could agree to. Colombian Liberal Party

Special Committee Member States

Alfonso López Pumarejo. Colombian President Guatemala Ireland Spain Coat of Arms Numbered souvenir sheet, Air express value Coat of Arms Coat of Arms Straw paper variety

Eamon de Valera Eamon de Valera (1882–1975), the League of Nations Council President, appointed Guatemala, Ireland and Spain as a Special Committee to recommend a resolution. The committee suggested a temporary Commission. to police the territory during negotiations.

League of Nations, Geneva

Issue of May 1938 Three line overprint (black) for official use by the League

Issue of September 1938 Circular overprint (black) League of Nations, Geneva to the Colombian Legation in Bern, Switzerland, 2 August 1929 Specimen (red) overprint 5¢ domestic printed matter rate (newspaper wrapper) The Commission

Members of the international Commission for Forty-five Colombian soldiers became the Administration of the Territory of Leticia the League’s police force under the arrived in Bogotá in June 1933. They continued Commissions’s control thus ensuring the journey by air to the city of Leticia on the the cease-fire held. They assisted in Amazon River. The Commission included improving municipal services and representatives from Brazil, Spain and the United patrolled the region while the treaty States supporting the Commission’s functions. negotiations continued. Capital Building, Bogotá

Commission Member Countries

Brazil

Brazil Coat of Arms Revalue overprint missing 9 and S

Spain

Spain Coat of Arms Official issue for Judicial Branch

United States

League’s Leticia Commission arrives in Colombia “Barranquilla, Colombia ... The three members of the League of Nations Commission, pictured just before they left here on the Statue of Liberty last lap, by air, of their trip to Leticia, Colombia, where they settled the dispute between Colombia and Peru over the territory. Gutter snipe Left to right an center are, Captain Francisco Iglesias representing Spain; Colonel Arthur Brown of the United States, and Doctor Armando Mencia of Cuba, Secretary of the Commission.” (International News Photo - 22-6-33) Colombia’s Responsibilities

Colombia was responsible for all Commission costs including postal services as prescribed in the 1933 cease-fire agreement. International mail routes focused on the northern coastal city of Barranquilla. All incoming Colombian mail routes began there and traveled south, intersecting Bogotá as a transfer point along Barranquilla the way to other destinations. Barranquilla to Bogotá route Facsimile (reproduction)

Prior to the conflict, mail Colombia to and from Leticia went Peru by boat along the Amazon River between Leticia and Iquitos Iquitos, Peru. In September, Brazil Leticia 1933, the river mail route 100 Miles was discontinued. Amazon River route between Leticia Pan American and Iquitos, Peru prior to war Postal Union

Anniversary of SCADTA, first airline in the Americas Vertical dimensions differ due to perforation spacing

Barranquilla Venezuela

SCADTA Airmail route

Bogota Seaplane flying river routes Airmail value

Colombia

Military Express Airmail & Mail route Brazil

Peru U.S. War Department, Washington, D.C., 20 November 1933 to Colonel A.W. Brown of the Leticia Commission, care of the American Legation in Bogotá received 24 November 1933, forwarded via Military Express, 25 November 1933 Iquitos Leticia Penalty clause invalid for international destinations resulting in the use of postage stamps Airmail rate to Miami = 5¢; plus FAM service to Colombia = 30¢ per 1/2 oz. as of 6/15/1930 Military Airmail and Express Mail service route during war Only recorded example of official mail to a Leticia Commission member Incoming Commission Mail

League of Nations (overprinted Swiss issues), Geneva, Switzerland, 30 December 1933 to Secretary of the Leticia Commission via Barranquilla 15 January 1934 received Bogotá Air Services, 16 January 1934 Military Express, 16 January 1934 forwarded 17 January 1934 Columbia via New York City, N.Y. 30¢ <20 grams surface rate plus 6F airmail fee (3 x 2F per 5 grams) (90c overpaid for convenience)

To prevent mail from going through Peru, the Colombian Air Force began a Military Airmail service to carry mail between Leticia and Bogotá in October.

“Military Airmail Service” “Bogota” 33 mm diameter - Dater Magenta Observed: December 1933 - June 1934

League of Nations (overprinted Swiss issues), Geneva, Switzerland, 30 May 1934 from the Comptroller’s office - boxed COMPT. marking to Secretary of the Leticia Commission, Colombia via Barranquilla, 4 June 1934, received Bogotá, 5 June 1934 routed to Military Airmail, 5 June 1934, received by Military Express, Bogota, 8 June 1934 received by Military Express, Leticia, 12 June 1934 Colombia via New York City, N.Y. = 30¢ <20 grams surface rate plus 2F airmail fee (2F per 5 grams) Seven recorded examples of official mail to the Leticia Commission from the League of Nations Only recorded examples of a department marking COMPT (Comptroller) Colombian peacekeepers and a Leticia military express marking on official mail Outgoing Commission Mail

Mail to and from the Leticia Commission was carried in diplomatic pouch and processed by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bogotá. Mail to countries of the Pan American Union used a boxed handstamp to indicate it was postage paid.

“Ministry of Foreign Affairs” 35 mm diameter - Seal Red or Magenta Observed: August 1933 - June 1934

Mail to non-member nations was assessed standard Official mail from Secretary of the Leticia Commission, Colombia, 19 May 1934 rates. Appropriate postage was applied to the mail by via Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bogotá, 2 June 1934 to Longvieuw, Washington, U.S.A. Surface rate paid by franking privilege indicia of the Pan American Union Postal Convention the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bogotá Eight recorded examples of official mail with a handstamped official seal on the rear side. sent within Pan American Union countries

Leticia Commission to the future Commission Secretary Señor Carlos Garcia-Palacios at League headquarters via Military Express Mail, Bogotá, July 1933 forwarded from Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bogotá 8¢ <20 grams foreign surface letter rate postage added by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Entered postal system,18 July 1933 to Geneva, Switzerland Six recorded examples of official mail sent outside Pan American Union countries

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs Red specimen overprint Bogotá, Colombia The League of Nations’ Decision

The League of Nations Council members were charged to evaluate the territorial dispute and make a final award of the Department of Amazonas based on the Commission’s detailed reports and the 1922 Salomón-Lozano Treaty.

League of Nations Council Members

Edvard Beneš (1884-1948) Seán T. O’Kelly (1882-1966) August Zaleski (1883-1972) Czechoslovakia Ireland Poland Lord Cecil, Great Britain (1864-1958)

Disarmament League overprint on Swiss value

Leticia, Colombia on the Official mail of the British Foreign Office, London to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 4 June 1936 banks of the Amazon River Signed by Anthony Eden (1897-1977), Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and League Council member (Founder’s monument)

The League of Nations Council awarded the disputed Department of Amazonas territory to Colombia on 19 June 1934 based mainly on the 1922 treaty between Colombia and Peru. Out-classed by Colombia’s military in the region, Peru reluctantly accepted the Council’s decision and Leticia remained a sovereign part of Colombia.