Leticia

Leticia is a city and municipality in southern Colombia, and the administrative capital of the Amazonas Department. It sits on the banks of the Amazon River near its confluence with the Putumayo River, opposite the Brazilian town of Tabatinga. The area is part of the tri-border region with Brazil and Peru, and serves as a gateway for cross-border trade and travel.

The city has a tropical rainforest climate with high humidity and little seasonal variation in temperature. Rainfall is heavy year-round, fueling a surrounding rainforest that supports a biodiverse ecosystem. The population is diverse, including Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities such as Ticuna and Muinane.

Historically, Leticia emerged as a frontier settlement in the Amazon during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and became the capital of Amazonas Department in the 20th century. It was a focal point in the Leticia Crisis of 1932–1933, a dispute between Colombia and Peru over borders that was settled in 1934 with the Rio de Janeiro Protocol.

Economically, Leticia relies on river transport and cross-border trade, public administration, and ecotourism focused on the surrounding Amazon rainforest and biodiversity. The city is served by Alfredo Vásquez Cásares International Airport (IATA: LET), with connections to Bogotá and other Colombian cities, and by river routes on the Amazon that link to regional communities in Colombia and neighboring countries.