Leticia


Leticia

(lātē`sēä), town (1993 pop. 17,758), capital of Amazonas commissary, SE Colombia, on the upper Amazon. The Leticia region, a narrow strip of land extending S of the Putumayo River to the Amazon, was disputed, at times violently, between Colombia and Peru (1932–34). The region was awarded to Colombia by the League of Nations in 1934. Active U.S. participation by Secretary of State Henry Stimson with the League established a precedent, permitting interference by an international body in an area covered by the Monroe Doctrine. Rubber manufacture is the only industry.