The facts of the case refer to the extrajudicial execution of the anthropologist Myrna Chang, which took place on September 11, 1990. It was executed as the result of a military intelligence operation, carried out in accordance with a prior plan elaborated by the High Command of the Presidential General Staff, and which included the concealment of all instigators and perpetrators. At the time of the events, a pattern of selective extrajudicial executions driven by the State was in force, which was directed at those individuals considered to be “internal enemies.”

The IA Court established standards regarding the protection of right to life and the duty of judges to lead legal proceedings and prosecute within a reasonable timeframe, analyzing the State’s conduct of retaining evidence.