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impunity as of the present time. According to the application, one of the alleged victims of
the case was Wilmer José Florez Barrios.
A) On the alleged "extrajudicial execution" of Wilmer José Flores Barrios and the
steps that the State has taken in regard to it
7.
The Commission reported that "Wilmer José Florez Barrios, beneficiary of the
provisional measures in question, [was murdered on September 1, 2010] by two
individuals who intercepted him and shot him at least twice." It also reiterated “what has
been indicated on multiple occasions with regard to the lack of compliance with
provisional measures on the part of the State" and that "although the information on the
circumstances of the death of Wilmer José Flores Barrios is incipient[,...] the State has
not taken any protective action." He added that Wilmer José is the sixth member of the
Barrios family to be murdered in the third murdered with the provisional measures in
force. Finally, it asked the Court to order the State to provide a report and, given the
gravity of situation, consider the possibility of calling a public hearing on the measures.
Later, on October 18, 2010, the Commission submitted additional information and
recalled that "in its report on the merits 11/10 it found that young Flores Barrios was the
victim of a series of violations of his human rights” and found "that his murder in the
context of the lack of protection faced by the family constitutes a supervening fact that
should be evaluated by the Court upon issuing a judgment in the case."
8.
The representatives also reported that on September 1, 2010, Wilmer José Flores
Barrios, son of Martiza Barrios and brother of Rigoberto and Caudy Barrios, “lost his life
violently upon being attacked [allegedly] at 3:30 in the afternoon by two individuals who
have not been identified.” He was only 19 years old and had been a beneficiary of the
provisional measures since 2005. The alleged execution of another member of the
Barrios family raises to six the number of dead family members allegedly executed by
police officers. The State has not investigated nor has it diligently processed those
responsible for the facts committed against the various members of the family. The
situation is even worse taking into account that one of the deaths, that of Luis Alberto
Barrios in September of 2004, took place while he was protected by precautionary
measures granted by the Commission, while three of the deaths - those of Rigoberto
Barrios in January 2005, Oscar Barrios in November of 2009, as well as this one - took
place while the victims were covered by provisional measures granted by the Court.
According to the representatives, this demonstrates the State’s grave failure to comply
and lack of effectiveness in the adoption of the measures ordered by the bodies of the
inter-American human rights protection system.
9.
According to statements from the family members, the representatives indicated
that Wilmer José Flores Barrios was traveling toward the national highway when he was
intercepted near the Guayabito River, located at the entrance to the village of Guanayen,
by two men dressed as civilians and with their faces covered. They emerge from the
underbrush where they had been hiding. Upon intercepting him, they forced him to
dismount the motorcycle he was riding, they ordered him to get on his knees, and they
immediately fired two shots, one in his back and the other in his neck. Upon hearing the
shots, Caudy Barrios went running towards the place and saw the attackers fleeing into
the underbrush. Later, Wilmer José was transported to the Camatagua hospital where he
was admitted with no vital signs. At the time the facts took place, a police unit from
Guarico state was passing by, but the police officers refused to transport Wilmer José
and did not pursue the attackers. However, they escorted the vehicle transporting the
victim from the place of the incidents to the hospital and remained there until his death
was confirmed. Based on the facts, the representatives asked the Court to: a) maintain