d) The Venezuelan authorities failed to investigate or conduct inquiries into the autopsy findings concerning the black inorganic material found in Robert Díaz Loreto’s ocular conjunctiva, oral mucosa, respiratory tract, lungs and digestive system; e) The characteristics of the victims’ injuries in this case reveals a concentration of shots in their thorax or, more generally, on their “bodies”; f) During the two alleged confrontations, no member of the police detail was injured; g) The authorities did not take measures that would have been decisive to confirm or reject the line of investigation regarding the confrontations, such as taking fingerprints from the firearms or cartridges or testing for gunpowder residue on hands to prove that the weapons were effectively fired by the direct alleged victims in this case. 26 20. Despite the above and the abundant references to a context of extrajudicial executions in both the chapter on Facts and the chapter on Merits, 27 the IACtHR indicated that it was difficult to determine whether or not there had been a confrontation with the police officers28 and did not clarify whether this specific case concerned extrajudicial executions. 21. It is our opinion that, if the IACtHR had wished to make a more thorough analysis of the State’s version that the events related to a “confrontation” between the police and the victims in this case, it should have examined the legitimate, necessary and proportionate use of force by the state agents, in order to determine the State’s responsibility. III. THE FACTS OF THE CASE CONSTITUTE EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS A. Definition 22. Before continuing with the analysis of the facts of the case that motivate this opinion, it is illustrative to recall the elements that constitute an extrajudicial execution in the context of the use of force by the State’s law enforcement agents. 23. The United Nations Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of ExtraLegal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions indicates that, “in many countries throughout the world, extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions take place undocumented and undetected.” These executions include: (a) political assassinations; (b) deaths resulting from torture or ill-treatment in prison or detention; (c) deaths resulting from enforced "disappearances"; (d) deaths resulting from the excessive use of force by lawenforcement personnel; (e) executions without due process, and (f) acts of genocide. 29 24. Furthermore, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has indicated that it can be considered that an extrajudicial execution exists when “individuals whose actions engage the international responsibility of the State kill someone in an act that has the characteristics of an unlawful deprivation of life. Therefore, strictly speaking, in order to entail this international crime, the victim’s Cf. Case of Díaz Loreto et al. v. Venezuela. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 19, 2019, paras. 80 to 86. 26 Cf. Case of Díaz Loreto et al. v. Venezuela. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 19, 2019, paras. 29 to 33 and 66. 27 Cf. Case of Díaz Loreto et al. v. Venezuela. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 19, 2019, para. 80. 28 United Nations, United Nations Manual on the Prevention and Effective Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions (“Minnesota Protocol”), UN Doc. E/ST/CSDHA/.12 (1991). 29 6