65. As to the shots that were allegedly fired at the soldiers, one of the deponents indicated that the crew members of the “Rodach” boat fired three shots at them when they identified themselves, and another three “when they left hastily.” Another of the marines indicated that he “hear[d] about [four] or [five] shots.” 66. When asked specific questions, one of the marines stated that they found a “green commando” cap and two or three “green ski masks” on the detained boat, but found no weapons. 67. In giving his statement, the helmsman who accompanied the marines narrated aspects similar to those indicated by the others. He added that the soldiers fired “some [ten] shots into the air [and] then [the crew members of the other boat] fired two shots at them.” D. Subsequent events and the investigation into what happened 68. On December 8, 1999, at 7:50 a.m., the Second Criminal Judge of Esmeraldas made a note in the report of the removal of the body of Luis Eduardo Casierra Quiñonez and ordered that a forensic “autopsy” be carried out. 53 To this effect, the autopsy report performed the same day concluded that the cause of death was "acute internal hemorrhage, caused by the bursting of large vessels and injuries to internal organs, caused by the action of a firearm projectile."54 69. On December 9, 1999, Andrés Alejandro Casierra Quiñonez was transferred to the Eugenio Espejo Hospital in the city of Quito,55 where it was determined that he had suffered “[f]racture of the greater trochanter and fracture of the left femoral neck bone.” 56 70. On December 10, 1999, in a habeas corpus action, Orlando Olaya Sosa, Jorge Olgin Ortiz Bone, and Eguberto Padilla Caicedo were released from custody.57 71. The Judicial Police, which is a dependency of the National Police, performed numerous activities as part of an investigation into what happened. On December 13, 1999, an inspection was made of the vessels “involved in the incident.” This was performed in the facilities of the Port of Esmeraldas Harbormaster. In said procedure, the authorities verified the following: a) as to the boat used by the marines, "in the upper part of the bow [...] they observed two holes" and another "in the door of the kennel in the lower part,” and b) as to the boat used by the Casierra Quiñonez brothers, they noted that there were different items inside, including “a tramme[l] […], [two] cans […] , [a] drawer […], a rusty machete, white cable, [a] buoy, [two] rain ponchos […] with blood stains[,] a sack with blood stains, [five] pairs of rubber boots [and] [a] battery.” Likewise, “they observed a large number of holes due to the passage of firearm projectiles, both in the rear, front and side of the boat.” 58 72. In the following days, the Police heard statements from Sebastián Darlin Casierra Cf. Report of the removal of the body of Luis Eduardo Casierra Quiñonez, signed by the Second Criminal Judge of Esmeraldas on December 8, 1999 (evidence file, volume I, annex 1.m to the Merits Report, folio 39). 54 Cf. Forensic medical autopsy report of the body of Luis Eduardo Casierra Quiñonez of December 8, 1999 (evidence file, volume I, annex 1.m to the Merits Report, folio 38). 55 Cf. Statement of Jonny Jacinto Casierra Quiñonez, rendered before the National Police on December 13, 1999, file No. 3098-PJ-E (evidence file, volume I, annex 1.g to the Merits Report, folios 26 and 27), and testimony by Andrés Alejandro Casierra Quiñonez, given in a public hearing before this Court. 56 Cf. Medical certificate issued by the Head of the Orthopedics and Traumatology Service of the Eugenio Espejo Hospital on December 14, 1999 (evidence file, volume I, annex 1.n to the Merits Report, folio 41). 57 Cf. Police report No. 1385-PJ-E of December 17, 1999, file No. 3098-PJ-E (evidence file, volume I, annex 1 to the Merits Report, folios 43 to 51). 58 Cf. Police report No. 1385-PJ-E of December 17, 1999, file No. 3098-PJ-E (evidence file, volume I, annex 1 to the Merits Report, folios 43 to 51). 53 17