information regarding the status of the complaint following the death of Félix Ordóñez
Suazo.
F.1.2 Death of Félix Ordóñez Suazo
137. According to the evidence provided by the parties, the Court notes that Félix
Ordóñez Suazo, coordinator and board member of the Punta Piedra Community
Development Association, 145 died on June 11, 2007, due to three bullet wounds. 146
According to the testimony of Marcos Bonifacio Castillo, the only witness to Félix
Ordóñez Suazo’s death, this occurred on the said date, at around 7.30 a.m. However,
the death certificate gives the time of death as 11.00 a.m. 147
138. In addition, according to the version of the facts recounted by Marcos Bonifacio
Castillo, on June 11, 2007, at around 7.30 a.m., he was helping Félix Ordóñez Suazo
repair a wire fence on a property located in a place known as El Castillo, adjacent to
Punta Piedra. 148 On a nearby path, they both saw Luis Portillo’s son, David Portillo
Chacón, 25 years of age, who lived in Rio Miel. He was armed, carrying a rifle. On
finishing their task, Félix Ordóñez Suazo and Marcos Bonifacio Castillo headed towards
Punta Piedra and after walking for around five minutes, the latter, who was three
meters behind Félix Ordoñez, heard a gunshot and saw Félix drop the chainsaw he was
carrying. 149 Marcos Bonifacio Castillo stated that he ran towards the bushes to save his
life, from where he heard three more shots. He then returned to the village where he
told the people what had happened. Doroteo Thomas also stated that he had heard
three shots, and then met Marcos Bonifacio Castillo who told him what had
happened. 150 According to the statement made by Marcos Bonifacio Castillo, the author
of the shots was presumably David Portillo Chacón. 151
139. According to statements made by Marcos Bonifacio Castillo, Nieves Oswaldo
Bonifacio Castillo and Marcial Martínez Suazo, Félix Ordóñez Suazo’s death was due to
the land dispute between the latter and Luis Portillo and his son, David Portillo
Chacón. 152 This dispute had been reported to the Public Prosecution Service in an
usurpation complaint 153 (supra para. 133). Marcos Bonifacio Castillo indicated that
“Félix had already been threatened by Luis Portillo, David Portillo Chacón’s father, and
the problem they had was over a piece of land, because they had taken some of Félix’s
land and he had reported the problem to the Prosecution Service.” 154
140. On June 15, 2007, OFRANEH asked the Inter-American Commission to adopt
precautionary measures “in favor of the Punta Piedra community and, in particular […]
Cf. Record of corpse removal of June 11, 2007 (evidence file, folio 1565).
The record of corpse removal of June 11, 2007, indicated the presence of the following gunshot
wounds: a shot in the right side; a shot in the chest with exit wound, and a “finishing off” shot in the right
ear. Cf. Record of corpse removal of June 11, 2007 and Death certificate of July 14, 2007 (evidence file,
folios 1559 and 1565). Cf. Statement of Marcos Bonifacio Castillo of July 5, 2007 (evidence file, folios 1542
to 1545).
147
Cf. Death certificate of July 14, 2007 (evidence file, folio 1559).
148
Cf. Statement of Marcos Bonifacio Castillo of July 5, 2007 (evidence file, folio 1545).
149
Cf. Statement of Marcos Bonifacio Castillo of July 5, 2007 (evidence file, folio 1546).
150
Cf. Statement of Doroteo Thomas Rodriguez of July 3, 2007 (evidence file, folios 1546 and 1547).
151
Cf. Statement of Marcos Bonifacio Castillo of July 5, 2007 (evidence file, folios 1544 and 1545).
152
Cf. Statements of Marcial Martínez Suazo of July 14, 2007; Nieves Oswaldo Bonifacio Castillo of July
3, 2007, and Marcos Bonifacio Castillo of July 5, 2007 (evidence file, folios 1537, 1539 and 1545,
respectively).
153
Cf. Statement of Marcial Martinez Suazo of July 14, 2007 (evidence file, folio 1537).
154
Cf. Statement of Marcos Bonifacio Castillo of July 5, 2007 (evidence file, folio 1543).
145
146
41