in which they recorded that: (a) Paulino Mejía did not come forward to testify before
the DNIC agents present in the area, even though his presence was requested; (b)
neither the DNIC offices nor the offices of the Public Prosecution Service of Trujillo had
any record of, or conducted proceedings in relation to, the complaints concerning
usurpation and threats; (c) the planned procedures could not be conducted because
the DNIC agents were unable to return to the area of Punta Piedra owing to lack of
fuel; (d) the area presumably encroached upon by the Ortiz family was not inspected
and the accused were not fully identified. The Court has no further information on this
process.
F.3 Complaint for abuse of authority owing to the construction of a
highway cutting through the territory of the Punta Piedra Garifuna
community
155. On October 19, 2010, Edito Suazo Ávila and Antonio Bernárdez Suazo filed a
complaint for the offense of abuse of authority before the Ethnic Affairs Prosecutor,
and requested an investigation of the presumed “construction of a highway that would
cut through land owned by the Punta Piedra Garifuna community, currently known as
Rio Miel, without due consultation of the community as established in Convention 169
[…].” 190 The complaint was registered as No. 0801-2010-34463.
156. In this regard, the Ethnic Affairs Prosecutor: (a) issued a request for a police
investigation on November 3, 2010, ordering the DGIC to take several actions, such
as: taking statements from witnesses and the complainant; requesting information
about whether the mayor’s office had authorized the construction of a highway and the
relevant documentation, as well as information about a prior consultation of the
community with regard to the construction and the pertinent evidence that it had been
conducted; 191 (b) asked the INA Minister-Director to inspect the lands belonging to the
communities to determine the areas encroached upon; initially, this was not done
owing to a lack of travel expenses; 192 (c) issued a requirement for a police
investigation on May 14, 2013, reiterating the procedures previously requested and
ordering the DGIC to take new actions, such as: an on-site inspection and a request
for information about those in charge of the highway construction; 193 (d) requested the
Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and Housing (SOPTRAVI) of the area, to
forward information about the unit and personnel in charge of the construction of the
highway in 2010. 194 The next day, the Director General of Highways advised that there
was no project in the Punta Piedra community; 195 (e) required the Iriona mayor to
submit a copy of the 2010 highway construction permit; 196 in response, the deputy
189
Cf. Report of the National Directorate of Criminal Investigation of June 14, 2013, presented at the
request of the Ethnic Affairs Prosecutor (evidence file, folios 1644, 1646 and 1647). Also, the Ethnic Affairs
Prosecutor asked the DNIC to obtain the photographic records of Efraín and Alejandro Ortiz. This request
was not answered, according to the Court’s files. Cf. Request to execute procedures of the Ethnic Affairs
Prosecutor of June 12, 2013 (evidence file, folios 1642 and 1643).
190
Cf. Complaint of April 10, 2010, filed on October 19, 2010 (evidence file, folio 1482).
191
Cf. Request for police investigation of complaint No. 0801-2010-34463 of November 3, 2010
(evidence file, folios 1484 to 1485).
192
Cf. State’s brief to the Commission of February 18, 2011 (evidence file, folios 551 and 552).
193
Cf. Request for police investigation of complaint No. 0801-2010-34463 of May 14, 2013 (evidence
file, folios 1484, 1485 and 1487).
194
Cf. Official letter No. FEEPC-OF-65-2013 of the Ethnic Affairs Prosecutor of May 15, 2013 (evidence
file, folio 1486).
195
Cf. Official letter DGC 0861-2013 of SOPTRAVI of May 16, 2013 (evidence file, folio 1488).
196
Cf. Official letter No. FEEPC-OF-319-2013 of the Ethnic Affairs Prosecutor, dated May 23, 2013,
received on June 3, 2013 (evidence file, folio 1495).
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