33 144 the IACHR of the results of the investigation. As the incidents continued, on May 28, 2007 Alfredo López Álvarez complained to the D.G.I.C. that the day before people connected with the Municipal Trade 145 Union had entered the area and destroyed the crops. 136. Despite the numerous complaints lodged and the gravity of the acts denounced, the IACHR was not informed of any actions undertaken to throw light on what had happened and, where applicable, punish those responsible. On the contrary, there is a note in the file with the IACHR from the Council to the Prosecutor General, dated May 14, 2009, which asserts “the Government’s failure to administer justice through the D.G.I.C., the Office of the Public Prosecutor, the Office of the Prosecutor for Ethnic Groups, and the authorities responsible for investigation, to follow up on and address the 146 complaints.” . c) The “El Esfuerzo” Peseant Cooperative Association 137. On November 6, 1986, the Community of Triunfo de la Cruz proposed to the INA that twenty-five (25) manzanas that formed part of the 126.40 hectares granted to the Community in 1979 under guarantee of occupancy be surrendered to the “El Esfuerzo” cooperative comprise of low-income women members of the same Community. In accepting the proposal, on April 20, 1987, the INA gave the 147 cooperative possession of the 25 manzanas, and certified that fact with a “Provisional Possession 148 Certificate” issued on May 18, 1987. 138. From that time on, the women in the cooperative used the area to grow such products as cassava, rice, corn, and coconuts, to feed their families. On February 28, 1996, the group of women formally constituted themselves as a peseant cooperative association called “El Esfuerzo,” pursuant to the Agrarian Reform Law and the Peseant Cooperative Association Statute, contained in Decree Law No. 149 170 of December 30, 1974 and Decision No. 121 of February 24, 1976. 139. As a result of the expansion of the urban perimeter of the Municipality of Tela, at the beginning of 2001, the aforementioned land was claimed by a private individual, who proceeded to sell it 150 to third parties. The women members of the cooperative complained, through the Community 144 Written communication of the State dated August 16, 2007, received by the IACHR on August 17, 2007. 145 Annex 58. Complaint to the DGIC [Honduran Criminal Investigation Bureau] for damage to property perpetrated on May 28, 2007. Annex of the petitioner’s written communication dated May 30, 2007, received by the IACHR on the same date. The public complaint lodged by the Council concerning these incidents states that on May 27, 2007 approximately 20 members of the Municipal Trade Union “broke into the 22 manzanas area to destroy fences and the crops that families had sown with great effort, and threatened to kill those working there as well as the leaders who came to see what damage had been done, so that there was a fierce clash between the two sides, while the police just came to gather signatures so that they could report that they were providing security, when the fact is that they were conspicuously absent when they were most needed. The police do not patrol the area in dispute, despite a commitment to do so entered into with the Attorney General’s Office, precisely to prevent members of the aforementioned Trade Union breaking into the area in question.” Annex 59. Public Complaint by the Management Board of the Community on May 28, 2007. Annex of the petitioner’s written communication dated May 30, 2007, received by the IACHR on the same date. 146 Annex 60. Letter from the Management Board of the Community to the Attorney General dated May 14, 2009. Annex of the petitioner’s written communication dated June 2nd, 2009, received by the IACHR on June 3rd, 2009. 147 Annex 61. Certificate issued by the National Agrarian Institute on October 6, 1988. Annex 50 of the initial petition dated October 27, 2003, received by the IACHR on October 29, 2003. 148 The aforementioned certificate states that possession was granted to the ”El Esfuerzo” Peseant Cooperative Association group as a “beneficiary of the Agrarian Reform […] with notice that the land may not be sold, transferred, encumbered, or mortgaged.” According to the provisional possession certificate in the file with the IACHR the 25 manzanas had the following boundaries: “TO THE NORTH: with the road to the River Plátano sandbank; TO THE SOUTH: Land of the Garífuna Community of Triunfo de la Cruz; TO THE EAST: Euracia Bonilla and TO THE WEST: with Catarino Alvarez”. Annex 62. Certificate of Provisional Possession issued by the National Agrarian Institute on May 18, 1987. Annex 49 of the initial petition dated October 27, 2003, received by the IACHR on October 29, 2003. 149 Annex 63. Certificate of incorporation of the “El Esfuerzo” Peseant Cooperative Association, dated July 31, 1996. Annex 51 of the initial petition dated October 27, 2003, received by the IACHR on October 29, 2003. 150 According to the information at the IACHR’s disposal, Efraín Saravia sold part of the 25 manzanas to Fernando Azcona, Governor of the Department of Atlántida, and Cristina Isabel Morales, who lodged a complaint for the crime of