REPORT Nº 23/051
PETITION 204/04
ADMISSIBILITY
Narciso Barrios Et Al.
VENEZUELA
February 25, 2005
I.
SUMMARY
1. On March 16, 2004, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the
Commission” or “the IACHR”) received a petition from Mr. Luis Aguilera, Secretary General of
the Human Rights, Justice, and Peace Commission of Aragua State (hereinafter “the
petitioner”), representing Narciso Barrios (deceased) and his family Eloisa Barrios, Elvira
Barrios, Justina Barrios, Luis Barrios (deceased), and Oneida Barrios. The petition alleges the
responsibility of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (hereinafter, “the State” or “the
Venezuelan State”) in the extrajudicial killing of Mr. Narciso Barrios on December 11, 2003,
and incidents of harassment and violence against the other members of the Barrios family
named in this paragraph.
2. The petitioner claims that the incidents reported in the complaint constitute violations of
several provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the American
Convention”): the right to life (Article 4), the right to humane treatment (Article 5), the right
to a fair trial (Article 8), and the right to judicial protection (Article 25), all in accordance with
the general obligation established in Article 1(1) thereof.
3. During the processing of the petition, the Commission was informed that two members of
the Barrios family had died: Luis Barrios died of gunshot wounds on September 20, 2004, and
the 15-year-old minor Rigoberto Barrios died of a stomach hemorrhage after being hit by eight
(8) bullets on January 9, 2005. It should be noted that Luis Barrios and other members of the
Barrios family were the subject of a request for precautionary measures requested by the
IACHR on June 22, 2004. Upon receiving the information of the death of Luis Barrios, and in
light of the continued harassment suffered by several members of the Barrios family, the
Commission asked the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (hereinafter, “the InterAmerican Court” or “the Court”) to order Provisional Measures on behalf of several members of
the Barrios family on September 23, 2004. Among the persons protected by the measures
ordered by the Court was the minor Rigoberto Barrios.
4. As of the date of this report, the State has submitted no comments regarding the
admissibility of this petition.
5. After analyzing the positions of the parties, the Commission concludes that it is competent
to decide on the claim lodged by the alleged victims and that the case is admissible pursuant
to Articles 46 and 47 of the American Convention. Consequently, the Commission resolves to
inform the parties, to publish this report on admissibility, and to include it in its Annual Report.
II.
PROCESSING BY THE COMMISSION
A.
Petition
6. On March 16, 2004, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights received a petition
lodged by Luis Aguilera, Secretary General of the Human Rights, Justice, and Peace
Commission of Aragua State, representing Narciso Barrios, Eloisa Barrios, Elvira Barrios, Luis
Barrios, Oneida Barrios, and Justina Barrios, against the Venezuelan State. The Commission
registered the petition as No. number P-204/04. On May 13, additional information was
1 Commissioner Freddy Gutiérrez, a Venezuelan national, did not participate in the debate and vote on this report, in
compliance with Article 17(2)(a) of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure.
1