WEEK : You are the mayor of Santa Rosa...
Max Ortiz Rubio (M.O.): I was mayor for five years, elected by popular vote between 2018 and 2022. Now, since the district of Santa Rosa was created, the administration is under the reins of the Mariscal Ramón Castilla Provincial Municipality. When the next elections are held, in October 2026, there will be a mayor elected by popular vote who will have a budget from the nation of Peru so that Santa Rosa can grow further.
M.O.: He's from Peru, he's always been. I was born and raised here, and I know the history. President Petro doesn't live here; he doesn't know our reality. But they can't fool us, we know our history. I tell President Petro to stop talking nonsense and let us live in peace, because war is pointless, much less fighting over land. The boundaries we have are a fact, and he's going to lose.
WEEK : Has the Colombian State made a presence in this territory?
M.O.: Never. I'm from here, and I've never received any support from Colombia. I was lieutenant governor in 1996; I was the authority, and since then, I know the government hasn't provided any support. That's why I tell Mr. Petro that, while I respect his decisions, he can't come here and say this is Colombia because Santa Rosa has always been Peru.
WEEK : What state presence does Peru have in Santa Rosa?
M.O.: All the government institutions are here: the Peruvian Army, the Navy, also the National Police, Immigration, Senasa, there's a national bank, there's also the Country Program office, the Ministry of Health, and other offices. In other words: all the state institutions are here, not just now, but for many years.
M.O.: The institutions have always been here. And, I'll tell you, having Santa Rosa was always Colombia's goal. We're still the same as before; nothing has increased.
M.O.: That's a lie. We don't want to take anything away. If we go back to the Salomón Lozano Treaty, we know that Leticia is Peru. Unfortunately, we had a president, Augusto Leguía, who gave away the territory. My grandfather told me that we had already fought to lower the Colombian flag, so I think President Petro should keep quiet because if we break relations and return to that treaty, Leticia will once again be Peru.
SEMANA: Have the residents of Santa Rosa been affected by the dispute between Gustavo Petro and Dina Boluarte?
M.O.: No. That issue doesn't affect us because President Petro has spoken out of his own accord, because in Leticia there are more Peruvians than Colombians, and we live in a territory of equality. We lived in peace, and now he wants to fight us, but on this triple border we live as brothers. President Petro said things he shouldn't talk about because now in Colombia he doesn't have a majority in the country. He came to Leticia on August 7 because the peasants and miners in Boyacá were waiting for him to demonstrate against him.
WEEK : But the Peruvian Congress has just approved a law that adjusts the legislation for this area. Why did they make Santa Rosa a municipality?
