Mons. José Antonio Eguren—Archbishop of Piura and Tumbes from 2006 to 2024—was linked to the alleged case of land theft after the report The Sodalitium Scandal broadcast by the Al Jazeera news agency in 2016.
The report linked the SJB Civil Association and the Sodalicio with a criminal organization called La Gran Cruz del Norte. In 2018, the Peruvian Judiciary convicted the leaders of the latter group for different crimes and summoned the association’s representatives as witnesses, not defendants.
Marcelo Ynga “links Bishop José Antonio Eguren Anselmi with our Association and even attributes criminal acts to him.” However, the prelate “presided over the Association until April 27, 2001, the date on which he resigned as an associate of our institution.”
“That is, he was disconnected from the San Juan Bautista Association for more than 11 years before it began acquiring land in Catacaos,” the statement indicates.