3 Colombians displaced by violence; the social movements with land claims in the area, due principally to the effects of the Land and Agrarian Development Law in Venezuela and the murders of peasants by paid killers; and the especially unprotected situation of human rights defenders as a result of the breakdown of institutions, as well as the growing political polarization that undermines the work and status of human rights defenders in Venezuela. They say that, as a result, human rights defenders have been the target of attacks, harassment, professional opprobrium, and murder. 11. The petitioners note that in the above circumstances, Joe Luis Castillo González and Yelitze Moreno de Castillo carried out their work in defense of human rights from 1999 until 2003, providing assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers on the border between Venezuela and Colombia. They say that in the course of these activities Joe Luis Castillo González implemented projects with the Apostolic Vicariate of Machiques and the Regional Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). They also say that Joe Luis Castillo González worked until July 15, 2003, as coordinator of the Office of Social Action and Human Rights of the Apostolic Vicariate of Machiques, where he engaged in provision of legal and material assistance to asylum-seekers, in addition to monitoring their human rights situation; human rights training and awareness raising activities with indigenous communities in the Sierra de Perijá area; and legal assistance for peasants involved in land recovery processes. They also indicate that in the course of his activities, in 2001, Joe Luis Castillo González requested the IACHR to grant precautionary measures on behalf of 52 asylum-seekers,4 some of whom were subsequently murdered by suspected Colombian paramilitaries. 5 12. The petitioners allege that at approximately eight o'clock at night on August 27, 2003, as Joe Luis Castillo González, his wife, Yelitze Moreno de Castillo, and their 18-month-old son, Luis César Castillo Moreno, were driving in a car to their residence in the urbanization of Tinaquillo de Machiques, Zulia State, two persons riding on a motorcycle drew level with them and, after slowing down to confirm the identity of the vehicle's occupants, discharged 13 shots at them. 13. Joe Luis Castillo González died as a result of nine bullet wounds. Yelitze Moreno de Castillo presented gunshot wounds with entrance and exit to the left forearm, the left side of her thorax, and the left shoulder. The child, Luis Cesar Castillo Moreno, presented gunshot wounds with entrance and exit to his left forearm, both shoulders, and the left side of his thorax. Both survived after receiving medical attention in the city of Maracaibo. 14. The petitioners say that after being made aware of the incident, the CICPC (Criminal Investigation Police) pursued certain inquiries to clarify the facts and identify the perpetrators and their partners in crime. The petitioners say that on August 28, 2003, the CICPC sent the body of Joe Luis Castillo González to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maracaibo for a medical examination and legal autopsy. That office concluded that Joe Luis Castillo González died from “acute anemia as a result of injuries to vascular and visceral organs (lungs and liver) caused by gunshots.” 15. At the same time, the petitioners mentioned that on September 1, 2003, a call was made to the office of the Apostolic Vicariate of Machiques in which threats were made against its coordinator, Limay Basabe, and against Monsignor Ramiro Díaz Sánchez. They say that the Machiques CICPC Office was notified of these facts on September 2, 2003. They say that although the Office of the 20th Public Prosecutor based in Machiques, State of Zulia, whose duty it was to pursue the investigation, carried out a number of steps to collect evidence, it failed to conduct a witness examination procedure with Yelitze Castillo de Moreno and ballistics comparisons tests. 4 MC-176/01, Manuel de Jesús Pinilla Camacho et al. Precautionary Measures granted on March 12, 2001. http://www.cidh.oas.org/medidas/2001.eng.htm. See 5 According to information supplied by those who requested the precautionary measure, two beneficiaries of the measure, Manuel de Jesús Pinilla Camacho and his son's Nelson Pinilla, were murdered on November 4, 2001. They say that according to information from the authorities, both were members of the Camilo Cienfuegos Front of the National Liberation Army (ELN for the Spanish) and had been involved in the extortion of cattle ranchers. Other information collected suggested that both were members of the 33rd Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC for the Spanish). Record in Case MC-176/01, Manuel de Jesús Pinilla Camacho et al. Precautionary Measures granted on March 12, 2001.