taken to the town’s health clinic and then by ambulance to the Camatagua Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.131 114. On January 2, 2011, at around 8 p.m., Néstor Caudi Barrios was the victim of an attempt on his life in the Las Casitas area of Guanayén.132 As a result of the attack, Nestor Caudi Barrios “suffered motor disability [and required] several operations.”133 115. On May 28, 2011, Juan José Barrios was deprived of his life. His body was found in a lake behind a Guanayén housing development, with two bullet wounds, one in his shoulder and the other in his right leg.134 iii. Considerations of the Court 116. Regarding the obligation to guarantee rights, the Court reiterates that the State has a legal obligation, “within reason, to prevent human rights violations and to use the means at its disposal to conduct a serious investigation of any violations that may be committed within its jurisdiction, in order to identify those responsible, to impose the appropriate punishment, and to ensure adequate reparation to the victim.”135 The most important factor is to discover “whether a specific violation […] has occurred with the support or the tolerance of the public authorities, or whether the latter have allowed the act to take place without taking measures to prevent it or to punish those responsible.”136 This obligation requires the States take appropriate measures to protect and preserve the rights of all those under its jurisdiction (positive obligation), in keeping with its obligation to ensure the free and full exercise of those rights (supra para. 48). 117. Luis Alberto Barrios was a beneficiary of precautionary measures ordered by the Commission. In addition, Oscar José Barrios, Wilmer José Flores Barrios and Juan José Barrios were beneficiaries of provisional measures ordered by the Court.137 Nevertheless, they were murdered on September 20, 2004, November 28, 2009, September 1, 2010, and May 28, 2011, respectively. Néstor Caudi Barrios was also to beneficiary of provisional measures138 when he suffered an attempt on his life on January 2, 2011. 118. In addition, Luis Alberto Barrios was present at the onset of the police operation that resulted in the death of his brother, Benito Antonio Barrios, in 1998 (supra para. 62). His home was searched by the police in November 2003, and he testified about these events to the Scientific Investigation Unit (infra paras. 138 to 142). Furthermore, some of his family 131 Cf. Memorandum of the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of August 9, 2011 (merits file, tome V, folio 2422). 132 Cf. Memorandum on case No. 05F20-022-11 dated August 10, 2011 (merits file, tome VI, folio 2487). 133 Cf. Report of the Ombudsman’s Office: Case of the Barrios Family, dated August 17, 2011 (merits file, tome VI, folio 2532). 134 Cf. Report of the Ombudsman’s Office of August 17, 2011, supra note 133, folio 2542. 135 Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez, supra note 15, para. 174, and Case of González et al. (“Cotton Field”), supra note 36, para. 236. 136 Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez, supra note 15, para. 173, and Case of González et al. (“Cotton Field”), supra note 36, para. 236. 137 Cf. Case of Eloisa Barrios et al. Provisional measures. Order of November 23, 2004, supra note 10, with regard to Oscar José Barrios, Néstor Caudi Barrios, Juan José Barrios, and Case of Eloisa Barrios et al. Provisional measures with regard to Venezuela. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of September 22, 2005, with regard to Wilmer José Flores Barrios. 138 Cf. Case of Eloisa Barrios et al. Provisional measures. Order of November 23, 2004, supra note 10. 41