On December 23, 2004, the Seventh Prosecutorial Unit requested CICPC to carry out
ballistics tests on the weapon and pieces of lead recovered through an on-site inspection
on January 1, 2001, as well as the ballistics tests on the weapons used by the officials
Juan Rojas and Valdemar Rodríguez on the same date.
On June 9, 2005, the Seventh Prosecutorial Unit, “in order to conclude the investigation,”
requested the CICPC to order the following complementary steps: reconstruction of the
facts and the planimetric survey of the scene of the crime, summons of the owner or
responsible party for the residence where the incidents took place, summons of the
seven members allegedly participating in the operation to provide witness testimony,
summons of some of the relatives of Néstor José Uzcátegui to provide witness testimony,
and photographs of the place of the events.
On October 4, 2005, an official belonging to the subdelegation of the CICPC reported that
the evidence was withdrawn from the Department of Recovered Objects, where two bags
containing evidence were found. One bag was found in good condition and the other in
poor condition and the evidence was wet. He also indicated that much of the evidence
was on the floor of the warehouse with the packages compressed. As a result, the
evidence was removed from the warehouse, when the minimal conditions for protection
were not met given the water filter on the roof.
On October 11, 2005, the Seventh Prosecutorial Unit made official record of having
conducted an on-site inspection of the warehouse, finding a deteriorated bag with wet
and compressed evidence, the state of which impeded the respective visualization and
identification.
On October 24, 2005, the chief of the CICPC subdelegation reported, “The exact location
of the evidence is unknown due to the impossibility of individually identifying the
elements.”
22. According to the petitioners, the summarized steps are the latest actions recorded in the
file held at the Seventh Prosecutorial Unit.
23. Additionally, they indicated that Luís Uzcátegui has submitted his statements on the case
and has publicly spoken out against the State’s inactivity in the investigations in the regional
newspapers “La Mañana” and “El Falconiano” as well as before the Commission of Social Affairs
and Citizen Participation of the Regional Legislative Council of Falcón State, the Public Ministry
of Falcón State, and the Legislative Assembly of the same State.
24. The petitioners added that, as a result of the activity undertaken by Luís Uzcátegui with
respect to the death of his brother, he had been affected in his personal integrity and liberty,
especially through a series of illegal and arbitrary detentions, alleged acts of torture, and
physical aggression, as well as alleged threats to his life and other forms of harassment and
intimidation, a situation resulting in him being granted precautionary and provisional measures
by the Inter-American Commission and Court, respectively.
25. The petitioners provided an extensive description of these events to the detriment of Luís
Uzcátegui, including:
On March 15, 2001, FSPF officials searched Mr. Luis Uzcátegui’s home without a court
order. The officials knocked down the door and slapped Mr. Uzcátegui’s younger brother,
a minor, Carlos Eduardo Uzcátegui, while telling him: “Tell your brother to stop speaking
out against us, or we will do to him just what we did to your other brother.”
On September 10, 2001, Mr. Luís Uzcátegui began to receive anonymous telephone calls
at his bedroom telephone as well as at his place of work in the Regional Legislative
Council of Falcón State. On the first call to his home, a male voice warned him: “Retire
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