37. According to a report addressed to the Lieutenant Coronel of the Student Corps of the ESGURNAC, the combat training exercise began at 9 AM, under the supervision of Captain Eddin Villasmil Antunes,and as it was taking place, at 12:45PM, Johan Alexis Ortiz was hit by two bullets as he passed through the obstacle know as “the rabbit hole.”11 The report notes that the incidents occurred “accidentally” and that in the training exercise “real gun fire from a AFAG 7.62mm caliber machine gun” was used as “harassment measure”,12 even though the training course specifically listed the use of “blank bullets” under materials required for the training exercise.13 38. As was established in the military criminal proceeding, Mr. Ortiz was helped by drill instructor, Jean Carlos Malpica Calzadilla,14 and another official, who “acted as nurse”and was transported in a military vehicle to the San Rafael Hospital of El Piñal, even though the general provisions of the course included procedures for emergency evacuations and the ongoing presence of medical staff and first aid equipment in each drill.15 In this regard, there are three reports from El Piñal Hospital, which are inconsistent with regard to the individuals who accompanied Mr. Ortiz when arriving in the hospital.16 [… continuation] 10 Annex 7. Press article from Diario de Los Andes. San Cristóbal. Tuesday February 17, 1998. Annex to original petition of March 15, 2000. 11 According to a report of the State Legislative Assembly, the obstacle involved “a low wire fence and you have to get through it with a low crawling technique.” According to subsequent findings, the course was “covered with dirt, mud and water, and [the] [barbed] wire fence [placed] 40 centimeters above the ground” over which an instructor was firing burst of AFAG 7.62 mm caliber machine gun projectiles. Annex 8. Report of the Standing Human Rights Committee of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Tachira on the death of Johan Alexis Ortiz Hernández, of January 16, 1999. Annex to original petition of March 15, 2000. 12 Annex 2. Report M-4. Official Letter No. 003, addressed to the Lieutenant Coronel of the Student Corps of the ESGURNAC, by the Lieutenant Commander of the First Company, Cordero, March 12, 1998. Annex to original petition of March 15, 2000. Said report recommended that an administrative report be written to determine the reasons why these incidents occurred. 13The instructions provide a description of the different drills to be performed, one of them called the “infiltration course” involving nine scenarios or obstacles. It noted “four thousand five hundred (4500) blanks” as material required for this practice drill, and as safety measures it is established that there must be a “first aid post available manned by a medic and a nurse, a stretcher and first aid equipment.” Annex 3. Course of MAJ GEN Víctor Anselmo Fernández Escobar National Guard Training Academy. Operation order for the First Anti-Subversive Combat Training Course ESGUARNAC – Cordero. Annex Ñ to petitioners’ submission received on February 25, 2002. 14The names of “Geancarlos Malpica Calzadilla” and “Jean Carlos Malpica Calzadilla” appear in the case file of the instant petition to refer to the same person. Hereinafter, the second form of the two forms of the names will be used. 15The general provisions of the course instructions established procedures for “evacuation and hospitalization,” including the following mechanisms: “administrative ambulance, ambulance coordinated with the Comprehensive Medical Assistance System, and Civil Defense of the State of Tachira for the most high risk training exercises.” Additionally, it is noted that the instructors of each “[obstacle] course” must: “take extreme safety precautions in any event of instruction in which special equipment, weapons and/or explosives are handled;” “verify the permanent presence of medical staff and first aid equipment at each drill […]”; “activate any safety contingents (sentinels, patrols, command posts, etc.), which may be necessary and adequate […] to prevent actions contrary to physical security [safety], during the execution of the [training] exercises” and “verify immediate availability on the course site or very close to it, of any means of ground or air transportation for emergency evacuations, in the event that serious injuries arise […]”.Annex 3. Course of MAJ GEN Víctor Anselmo Fernández Escobar National Guard Training Academy. Operation order for the First Anti-Subversive Combat Training Course ESGUARNAC – Cordero. Annex Ñ to petitioners’ submission received on February 25, 2002. 16One report establishes that he arrived in the company of Commander Villasmil Antunez Eddin (Annex 9. Medical report of the Regional Directorate of the National Health System, State of Tachira, El Piñal Hospital, dated February 15, 1998. Signed by Dr. Lucy Vega as attending physician. Annex to the certificate of judicial inspection conducted by the Court of the Parrish of the Municipality of Monseñor Alejandro Fernández Feo of the judicial district of the State of Tachira at the main building of El Piñal Hospital on August 27, 1998. Both documents attached to petitioners’ submission of June 16, 2000; another report notes that he arrived in the company of Second Lieutenant Fidel Rodríguez Barrolleta (Annex 10. Medical report of the Regional Directorate of the National Health System, State of Tachira, El Piñal Hospital, dated February 15, 1998. Signed by Dr. Lucy Vega as attending physician. Annex to petitioners’ submission of June 16, 2000; and another report establishes National Guard Private First Class (Corporal) Wilson Castillo Pedraza and Commander Villasmil Antunez Eddin as accompanying him (In the medical case history, it also appears that Johan Alexis was accompanied by Commander Eddin Villasmil Antunez. See: Annex 12. Medical history No. 15 of the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance of El PiñalHospital, signed by Dr. Lucy Vega. In the certificate of judicial inspection, conducted on August 27, 1998, it is noted that Dr. Lucy Vega stated during the investigation interview that “that Commander never personally took charge of the body, but rather corporal Wilson Castillo Pedraza and another member of the military forces, who also claimed to belong to the National Guard, were the only ones who did. See: Annex 11. Certificate of judicial inspection conducted by the Court of the Parrish of the Municipality of Monseñor Alejandro [continues …]