Creation of the Department of Tumbes (Law No. 9667)

On November 25, 1942, the constitutional President of the Republic, Manuel Prado Ugarteche, accompanied by his Minister of Government and Police, Ricardo de la Puente, promulgated Law No. 9667, officially elevating the Coastal Province of Tumbes to the status of Department of Tumbes, marking its definitive institutional birth.

This historic law was enacted as a direct national recognition of the civic valor, strategic sacrifice, and patriotism demonstrated by the people of Tumbes during the 1941 Northern Campaign and the Battle of Zarumilla. The statute decentralized the regional territory into three distinct constituent provinces:

1. Province of Tumbes: Established as the departmental capital, encompassing the districts of Tumbes, Corrales, San Juan de la Virgen, Pampas de Hospital, and San Jacinto, functioning as the political and agricultural heart of the river basin.
2. Province of Zarumilla: Created with its capital in Zarumilla in explicit tribute to the military victory on the border, incorporating the districts of Zarumilla, Papayal, and Matapalo (and subsequently the commercial gateway of Aguas Verdes), safeguarding the international border axis.
3. Province of Contralmirante Villar: Created with its capital in Zorritos, honoring Rear Admiral Manuel Villar Olivera, hero of the naval Combat of Abtao in 1866, consolidating the southern coastline and historic petroleum fields.

The enactment of Law No. 9667 established autonomous regional government bodies, public registries, supreme courts of justice, and direct budgetary allocations, allowing Tumbes to transition from an isolated border outpost to a fully integrated and prosperous department of the Peruvian state.