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Alvarado Reyes with the aim of “staying in touch” with the beneficiaries’ family
members. Despite the foregoing, the State declared that “it ma[de] available its
telephone numbers, which [the beneficiaries’] families already kn[ew] so that if it were
ever to be required by any federal authority, these persons c[ould] verify if this official
visit [was] properly based and motivated.” The State insisted that because of the open
investigations based on the facts of the present case, “there [was] the possibility that
some authorities [would] seek out the families of the beneficiaries so that they [would
provide] information for the ongoing investigations.” Regarding the March 10, 2010
request from the proposed beneficiaries that a cell phone be given to Mrs. María de
Jesús Alvarado Espinoza, Mexico indicated that this equipment had already been sent
but that Mrs. Alvarado Espinoza had not accepted it. The State also noted that it was
in the process of making all internal arrangements to provide the proposed beneficiaries
with six cellular telephone units and that on two occasions certain family members of
the beneficiaries had been provided with means of transportation. Finally, the State
stressed its position of “maintaining a good faith” agreement with the beneficiaries and
their representatives on “convenient mechanisms to fulfill implementation of the
protective measures in their favor.” Thus, when the representatives of the beneficiaries
and the family members consider it appropriate, the correct agreed-upon measure will
be implemented in order to make good on this issue.
40.
Regarding the additional information presented by the Commission (supra
Considering 38), the State noted that this information “[did] not precisely indicate the
risk or imminent gravity” to which the family members of the beneficiaries would be
exposed, nor “much less the connection to the protective measures” in the present
matter, thus making this information “ambiguous and imprecise.” The State insisted
that the necessary elements to determine the gravity and urgency of a situation
“[were] not evident from the facts referenced by the [proposed] beneficiaries.”
However, the State noted that regarding the events having allegedly occurred on May
4, 2010 (supra Considering 37(a) and 38(b)), the Federal Secretariat of Public Safety
requested information from the operational sections of the Federal Police, and that
when such information were obtained, it would be submitted to the Tribunal.
41.
In its October 12, 2010 communication (supra Having Seen 4), the Commission
added that the facts presented in its request as occurring after April 2010 were to be
considered in the context of harassment and intimidation that began in January 2010,
days after the beneficiaries’ disappearance, because ever since that date “officials from
the military and other entities have shown up at the family members’ domiciles and
have, without any sort of satisfactory explanation, inspected those locations and carried
out ‘procedures.’” The Commission found the State’s remarks regarding the possibility
that the beneficiaries’ families could be sought by the authorities for information as
worrisome. In this regard, the Commission stressed that “the visits that both the
family members and the representatives of the beneficiaries allege[d] to have received
c[ould] not be considered regular in the context of the investigations.” On the
contrary, the Commission found that “due to the characteristics [of the visits]; the
violent and intimidating attitude; and the entities that appear[ed] at the residences, it
[was] possible to infer their threatening nature.”
42.
The Tribunal notes that in its observations on the State’s briefs both during the
proceedings for precautionary measures before the Commission and during the present
proceeding for provisional measures, the representatives have referred to and
submitted information on what they consider to be separate acts of harassment and the
State’s inability to provide protection for the family members and the representatives.
In particular, the representatives stressed that they had met with the State on March
10, 2010 (supra Considering 11, 34) and that on that occasion they requested that the
State provide them with certain measures of protection, but despite this the State did
nothing in their favor. Rather, “on the contrary, the intimidating and harassing acts
continue[d].” In addition to the acts already mentioned by the Commission in its