6 Vicariate’s Social Action Office was closed, which put an end to its work in the area of assistance to refugees and human rights violations. 29. Finally, the petitioners argue that the State is responsible for violation of Articles 8(1) and 25(1) of the American Convention, in connection with Article 1(1) thereof, by neglecting its duty to act with due diligence in the investigation and failing to carry out said investigation in a reasonable time. They also assert that the State failed to ensure an effective remedy under domestic law for the alleged victims and their next of kin. 30. As to the reasonable time rule, the petitioners argue that the criminal investigation into the facts was archived during the preparatory phase, which lasted three years and 10 months, and that the investigation had failed to lead to the identification, apprehension, and punishment of either the intellectual or the material authors of the crime. 31. As regards the procedural activity of the interested party, the petitioners say that Yelitze Moreno de Castillo has continually pursued, both personally and through her representatives, measures to assist in the elucidation of the facts and identification of the culprits. They say that Yelitze Moreno de Castillo took part in various evidentiary procedures, has furnished relevant information to the investigation, requested the performance of forensic tests aimed at identifying those responsible, and called for celerity in the investigation. As for the conduct of the judicial authorities, the petitioners argue that there was excessive delay in ordering the performance of forensic tests and collection of other evidence necessary to identify the perpetrators, which, they say, shows a lack of diligence in moving the proceedings forward. 32. Finally, with respect to the complexity of the matter the petitioners claim that although the case is complex to some degree, the Office of the Attorney General had basic evidence in its possession since the start of the investigations, including an artist’s sketch of the alleged author of the gunshots made with a description supplied by Yelitze Moreno de Castillo, the projectiles found at the scene of the crime, and the fact that the Office of the Attorney General became aware on September 10, 2003, of the existence of a paramilitary group operating in Machiques that was thought to have carried out the killings of several persons -including Joe Luis Castillo González- and that it knew the names and/or aliases of the group’s members. 33. They also allege that in September 2003, the Office of the Attorney General learned of the existence of a list of names of persons considered by alleged Colombian paramilitaries as "targets for elimination.” They say that the Office of the Attorney General had access to witnesses, such as the alleged paramilitary Emer Humberto Terán Méndez, who had expressly mentioned that the killing of Joe Luis Castillo González was committed by presumed Colombian paramilitaries with the support of Venezuelan local authorities. The petitioners claim, however, that despite being in possession of the requisite evidence, the Office of the Attorney General took no steps to determine the veracity of the account of Mr. Emer Humberto Terán Méndez, nor pursued a line of investigation to identify the physical perpetrators and architects of the murder of Joe Luis Castillo González. 34. As to due diligence in the investigations, the petitioners argue that the State violated its duty by its failure to take steps to confirm the truth of the testimony given by Emer Humberto Terán Méndez and the member of the National Guard Edgar Alfonso González, who said with regard to Emer Humberto Terán Méndez that “these guys are paracos [paramilitaries] hired by various cattle ranchers in the area; the mayor Toto Márquez knows about it, and in fact and his drivers ferry these guys to and from different places; they have come to cleanse Machiques of all the lowlifes; they are scary guys because they don't respect anybody.” The petitioners argue that these testimonies could have given rise to a line of investigation that would have made it possible confirm the identity of those, agents of the State included, who took part in the killing of Joe Luis Castillo González; however, no steps were taken to identify and charge those responsible. B. The State