Journalist Luis Alberto Villacorta Salas was arrested on September 2 in Tarapoto due to a court order issued a day earlier. Villacorta has reported an alleged bias in the actions of Judge Julissa Paola Bengoa Vargas and his lawyer Ottman Barrera López.
Villacorta is currently in the detention center of the Criminal Investigation Division (Divincri) of Tarapoto, following the execution of the capture order issued in Resolution No. 11, dated September 1, within case file 02247-2025-0-2208-JR-PE-01. The arrest took place a day after a hearing which his lawyer did not attend, according to his statement.
In his declaration, Villacorta stated that lawyer Gesell Méndez Ibáñez, who was accredited to receive notifications, should have been present at the procedural act. He pointed out that it was unfair to issue the capture order after the absence of his defense, which submitted its resignation shortly after the hearing.
The journalist has requested that the authorities review the sequence of events to determine whether there may have been any coordinated actions resulting in his arrest. Furthermore, to date, no hearing has been held following his capture.
Villacorta links his arrest to a separate proceeding in which one of his daughters has reported violence. This case, which is being investigated under case file 01668-2024-89-2208-JR-PE-03, has psychologist Walther Lossio Monroy as the accused. According to the journalist, the indictment control hearing has been repeatedly rescheduled, with the most recent rescheduling moved to November 11, 2026.
The minor’s father has also criticized the disparity in timelines between both cases, noting that his capture order was issued quickly compared to the process affecting his daughter. Villacorta has requested that the Prosecutor’s Office analyze whether the events may constitute criminal offenses and that the National Authority for Judicial Power Control (ANC) review the actions of Judge Bengoa Vargas.
He also requested that the San Martín Bar Association evaluate the professional conduct of Ottman Barrera López and Gesell Méndez Ibáñez, who resigned from Villacorta’s defense after the hearing on September 1. Villacorta has sought the review of documents related to both cases, including resolutions, minutes, and recordings of the hearings.
Source: www.infobae.com
