rights. Indeed, the Commission finds that those omissions favored the continued disappearance of Mr.
Omeara Miraval and, ultimately, his execution.
158.
In addition to disclosing an infringement of the duty to ensure rights, the aforementioned
omissions are particularly significant insofar as the State's involvement in the disappearance and later
execution is concerned, bearing in mind that said inaction belonged to UNASE, the unit with which Fabiola
Álvarez said she filed her complaint and which was alleged to be a death squad that acted in coordination
with the very illegal armed group to which the attack on Guillermo Omeara’s was attributed.
159.
Third, the Commission finds that the testimony of Juan Francisco Prada, a member of the
paramilitary group, indicates that one of those involved in the disappearance and execution of Guillermo
Omeara was the man known by the alias “el ave” (cf. supra par. 78). According to Juan Francisco Parra that
same person took part in the attack on Héctor Álvarez, who revealed that the truck in which Mr. Omeara
Miraval disappeared belonged to Mr. Prada (cf. supra par. 84).
160.
The Commission finds that the same person's involvement in both incidents strengthens the
petitioners' contention that the acts of violence were interconnected. Specifically they argued that the attack
on Héctor Álvarez was designed to silence the bid to obtain justice for the disappearance and execution of
Guillermo Omeara, and that what happened to Guillermo Omeara was aimed at delaying his investigations to
identify the perpetrators of the attack on Noel Emiro Omeara, in which evidence has been presented of the
involvement of state agents (cf. supra par. 60).
161.
Faced with this accumulation of circumstantial evidence, the Commission notes that the
State said that the involvement of agents of the State has not been proved based on the findings of the
investigations. In that regard, the Commission finds that the investigation of Major Lázaro Vergel in relation
to this fact was precluded in the regular courts and set aside in disciplinary proceedings. However, the State
has not provided an explanation or evidence supporting the decisions on the basis of which it was opted not
to include Major Lázaro Vergel in the criminal investigation. Likewise, the State has not furnished an
explanation of the reason not to investigate the possible activities of other state agents, such as “Rambo,” who
was said in a statement to be a member of the UNASE, was allegedly involved in the events connected with
the attack on Noel Emiro Omeara, and reputedly later visited the family after Guillermo Omeara's
disappearance was reported.
162.
With respect to the investigation in the military jurisdiction, although the State has provided
information about inquiries aimed at determining whether or not army, police, and DAS personnel, as well as
members of the UNASE, were involved, the Commission finds that said jurisdiction does not satisfy the
guarantees of independence and impartiality that would allow it to be considered a valid means of
clarification of the facts under the Convention (cf. infra pars. 198-201).
163.
In conclusion, the Commission finds that the State's mere mention of the sense of the
decisions that were adopted in the ordinary courts and disciplinary proceedings and its denial of any
involvement of its agents in the events are not sufficient to disprove the findings made with regard to the
involvement of the illegal armed group led by members of the Prada family in the events, for which there is
consistent information to suggest that it acted in coordination with, or with the acquiescence of, state agents.
That circumstantial evidence of responsibility is further strengthened, moreover, when one considers the
inaction of the UNASE rather than launch an immediate search upon learning of the disappearance, that said
unit was referred to by several individuals as a death squad that acted in connivance with the paramilitary
group, and that it has not been effectively investigated by the State. The Commission also finds the foregoing
to be consistent with the petitioners' submissions that the purpose of the disappearance was to silence
Guillermo Omeara on account of his efforts to investigate the attack on Noel Emiro Omeara, in which, as is
noted above, State agents were involved whom, it may be reasonably concluded, would have had an interest
in their responsibility not coming to light. In spite of the circumstantial evidence that all three incidents were
interconnected, the State has failed to investigate that connection properly.
39