21 51. In view of the acknowledgment of responsibility made by the State (supra para. 27) and in accordance with the body of evidence in the instant case, the Court finds the following facts to have been proven:9 a) Background 51.1 On December 15, 16 and 17, 1999, heavy rains in Vargas State, Venezuela, caused rock and mud slides along the foothills of the Ávila hill, affecting the coastal areas of that region. On December 16, 1999, the Asamblea Nacional Constituyente (National Constituent Assembly) declared the state of alarm for the Federal District and eight states of the country and empowered the Executive to implement such measures as may be necessary to prevent further damage and address the needs of the population affected by the aforementioned disaster. 51.2 Due to the security situation affecting the region struck by the natural disaster, members of the Marine Corps, of the National Guard and of the Army were deployed in the area, as well as DISIP agents. In the course of taking the action ordered to restore public order, there arose some situations of human rights violations, such as the events in the instant case, which were perpetrated by certain members of the Army and the DISIP. In such context Messrs. Oscar José BlancoRomero, Roberto Javier Hernández-Paz and José Francisco Rivas-Fernández were arrested and subsequently disappeared. b) Regarding Mr. Oscar José Blanco-Romero i) Arrest and disappearance 51.3 On December 21, 1999, at approximately 2.00 pm, a group of the 422nd Paratrooper Infantry Battalion “Colonel Antonio Nicolás Briceño” (hereinafter “Infantry Battalion 'Colonel Antonio Nicolás Briceño’”) commanded by Lieutenant Federico Ventura-Infante, stormed the residence of Mr. Oscar José Blanco-Romero — located in the Valle del Pino neighborhood, Caraballeda village, Vargas State— who was in the company of his wife, his mother-in-law and his two children, as well as his niece and nephew that had come to live with the victim at a very early age. The members of the aforesaid group forced Mr. Oscar José Blanco-Romero to go out of the house. 51.4 That same day, after being arrested and beaten by members of the aforementioned group, Mr. Oscar José Blanco-Romero, of 37 years of age, was turned over, following orders by Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Antonio BriceñoAraujo, Commanding Officer of the Unit, to DISIP officers, who arrived at the place under the command of a Police Commander called "Roberto". Ever since that day, Mr. Oscar José Blanco-Romero’s next of kin have not been able to obtain information on his whereabouts. 9 Paragraphs 51(1) and 51(36) of the instant Judgment deal with undisputed facts, which this Court finds to have been proved based on the acknowledgement of international responsibility made by the State.