190. The State rejected the accusations concerning the alleged violation of the rights to judicial guarantees and judicial protection, indicating that investigations had been carried out by the investigative bodies in all the cases taken up by the Prosecution Services, and observing that, in most of them, there are final decisions, and that charges have even been brought in two of them. The State argued that the fact that procedures proposed by the victims have not been carried out “does not entail any irregularity, because the Public Prosecution Service is empowered […] to carry them out or not […] and the petitioners must indicate [their] pertinence as an essential requirement to process them, and this is not on record in the file.” It also asserted that “in offenses for which a public action is in order […] only [the Public Prosecution Service] is empowered to determine what measures should be taken.” With regard to the alleged judicial delay, it indicated that there is no domestic law establishing “a time frame for a prosecutor, after ordering the opening of an investigation, to identify those responsible for the illegal act in question, [because it may] not be possible to identify them.” There is only one provision that establishes six months for the issue of a final decision when those responsible have been identified, according to article 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 191. The State reviewed the measures taken in the domestic sphere in relation to the members of the Barrios family. It specified that, regarding the proceedings for the death of Benito Antonio Barrios, the Prosecutor had charged four police officials with the crime of complicity to commit voluntary manslaughter on April 17, 2007, and that the Ninth Court had issued an arrest warrant against them, thus revoking the precautionary measures for the accused. Regarding the proceedings for the death of Narciso Barrios, it indicated that the trial was underway; it was at the public oral stage, at the phase of receiving evidence, and three agents had been charged. Furthermore, with regard to the investigations related to the death of Luis Alberto Barrios, the State indicated that it had not been able to establish the participation of any police agent, and therefore the closing of the prosecution’s case had been ordered. In the case of Rigoberto Barrios, on August 23, 2010, the prosecution had proceeded to joinder the action on malpractice to the case of the injuries suffered on January 9, 2005, following the re-opening of the investigation in which it had been decided to close the prosecution’s case, owing to the appearance of new evidence, and it was therefore in the investigation phase. In addition, regarding the death of Oscar José Barrios, the State indicated that it had opened the criminal investigation upon being informed of the facts and that this was at a preparatory stage. C. Facts 1. Investigation of the death of Benito Antonio Barrios 192. On August 28, 1998, the Technical Unit of the Judicial Police (hereinafter also “the Judicial Police”) opened to preliminary inquiry into the death of Benito Antonio Barrios.232 That same day they conducted several procedures:233 On August 29, 1998, an autopsy was Josefina Barrios, Luis Alberto Barrios, Orismar Carolina Alzul García, Ronis David Barrios Alzul, Roniel Alberto Barrios Alzul, Luís Alberto Alzul, Lilia Ysabel Solorzano Barrios, Narciso Antonio Barrios, Junclis Esmil Rangel Teran, Annarys Alexandra Barrios Rangel, Benito Antonio Barrios Rangel, Luisa del Carmen Barrios, Gustavo Ravelo, Jesús Ravelo and Juan José Barrios (merits file, tome II, folios 288 to 290). 232 Cf. Note of the Judicial Police of August 28, 1998 (file of attachments to the Commission’s Report No. 11/10, tome I, attachment 1, folio 2918), and Note No. 9700-081-5843 of the Technical Unit of the Judicial Police of the Aragua region, Villa de Cura Police Station of August 28, 1998 (file of attachments to the Commission’s Report No. 11/10, tome I, attachment 1, folio 3017). 233 They performed the following: (a) visual inspection of the body and taking of fingerprints; (b) inspection of police records of the incident; (c) inspection of the scene of the crime, where several cartridges and a knife were 62