Department of La Libertad (Peru–Bolivian Confederation)

The Department of La Libertad was an administrative division within the short-lived Peru–Bolivian Confederation, existing between 1837 and 1839. It encompassed the territory of the present-day La Libertad Region of Peru. Established by Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz, the Supreme Protector of the Confederation, it was one of the departments forming the North Peru State.

The department’s capital was Trujillo, a historically significant city in northern Peru. Its governance structure mirrored that of other departments within the Confederation, with a Prefect appointed by the central government in Lima. The primary responsibility of the department was to administer its territory, collect taxes, and maintain order in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Confederation.

The Department of La Libertad, like the rest of the Peru–Bolivian Confederation, was short-lived. Internal dissent within both Peru and Bolivia, combined with external pressures from Chile and Argentina, led to the Confederation's dissolution after the War of the Confederation (1836-1839). Following the defeat of Santa Cruz's forces, the North Peru State, and consequently the Department of La Libertad, ceased to exist as Peru reasserted its sovereignty as a unified republic. The territory reverted to its pre-Confederation status as part of Peru.