- 55 - important role in creating the type of institutional culture and competence required to deal with the factors that explain certain structural contexts of violence.226 154. Even though this Court has indicated that it is not a criminal court (supra paras. 41 to 43), this does not prevent it from observing that the way in which, on repeated occasions, the sentence imposed on the only two perpetrators who were convicted was reduced, as well the fact that they were able to leave their place of confinement and, as confirmed by the domestic authorities, participate in the perpetration of another crime as part of the military intelligence apparatus while they were deprived of liberty, indicates that the State made an insufficient effort to prosecute and punish adequately serious human rights violations, such as those committed in this case. C.2 The second phase of (Investigation No. 329) the criminal investigation 155. Once the first phase of the criminal investigation had concluded with the charges brought by the Prosecutor’s office, this office continued on to a second phase of investigations under Investigation No. 329, which is still in its preliminary stages. The State indicated that this investigation “seeks to encompass all the facts and all those responsible for the human rights violations: perpetrators and masterminds, accomplices and accessories after the fact.” 156. In the context of this investigation, the State advised that several measures had been taken, in particular the Prosecutor had incorporated into the case file the book “Mi Confesión,” which had been rejected during the previous investigations; the paramilitary leaders were interviewed whose testimony had led to the identification of the paramilitary Edilson de Jesús Jiménez Ramírez, alias “El Ñato”227 (infra paras. 161 to 164) and the investigation of the former military adviser Narváez Martínez (supra para. 113), and several statements were taken regarding the existence of the so-called “coup de grâce plan.”228 Nevertheless, as already mentioned, this investigation is still ongoing and in its preliminary stages; but in view of the death of Edilson Jiménez Ramírez, alias “El Ñato,” the only person currently implicated in the proceedings is Mr. Narváez Martínez.229 157. The Court considers that the delay in the investigations, which the State has acknowledged, has been a decisive factor in the absence of the due diligence that this case required, because several of those involved have died, and this has not only prevented progress in the legal actions against them but, above all, progress in the investigations to clarify the facts and to identify those responsible for violating Senator 226 Cf. Case of González et al. (“Campo Algodonero”) v. Mexico, supra note 15, para. 377. 227 In his versión libre statement, Éver (or Hebert) Veloza García stated that he “did not belong to the SelfDefense Forces at the time [of the death of Senator Cepeda], but later, based on comments made by Carlos [Castaño Gil] himself and other individuals who took part in Mr. Cepeda’s death, I realized that it was ordered by Carlos and perpetrated by men under the orders of Carlos Castaño, because a man known by the alias ‘El Ñato’ was always to be found in Catalina, and Carlos did not let him leave and only used him for very special tasks and he remained in that area […].” Transcript of extracts of the versión libre statement received from Hebert Veloza García under Law 975 of 2005, supra note 162, folio 8152. 228 Cf. Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation, the 26th Special Prosecutor of the National Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit, Investigation No. 329, executive report of January 12, 2010, supra note 134, folios 8796 to 8805. 229 Cf. National Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit, Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation, implication of José Miguel Narváez Martínez in Preliminary Investigation 2182, of October 14, 2009. (evidence file, tome XXII, attachment 6 to the final written arguments of the representatives, folios 9082 to 9084).