The events of the case relate to the murder of Joe Luis Castillo González, a human rights lawyer, in August 2003. He was working on matters relating to indigenous people and refugees at Venezuela’s border with Columbia, when he was shot at by 2 people and fatally wounded whilst driving his car accompanied by his family.

The IA Court referenced the State’s duty of prevention, which is understood in terms of their obligation to create conditions conducive to the full and effective exercise of rights, particularly in the case of human rights defenders. Likewise, the IA Court applied standards of due diligence in the investigation of violent deaths.