According to the statement of the Municipal Ombudsman (“Personero Municipal”) narrated
by the Administrative Tribunal “from the time it was known who the deceased was there was an atmosphere
of astonishment in the Fortuñela community” and “spontaneously during his funeral a large crowd carried
out a march demanding justice[,] which arrived at the sector of the “Y”; there were even people haranguing
the troops present at the location that they were murderers.” 160
97.
b.
Considerations of the Commission
98.
The Commission observes in the present case that various elements concur and must be
taken into consideration when deciding whether the acts occurred as stated by the State, in the context of a
confrontation and the exercise of the right to legitimate self-defense, or whether, it was an extrajudicial
killing, as indicated by the petitioners. When carrying out this assessment the Commission recalls that
whenever the use of force [by state agents] results in death or injuries to one or more individuals, the State
has the obligation to give a satisfactory and convincing explanation of the events and to rebut allegations of
its liability, through appropriate evidentiary elements. 161
99.
In this regard, the Commission considers that the alleged confrontation is verified by the
State, fundamentally, in the following evidenciary elements: the testimony of the military personnel; the
finding of armaments, the ammunition used by the military during the confrontation; the report of the
“Balistics Lab” stating that the revolver found is optimally functioning but in a terrible condition of
conservation (see infra para. 232).
100.
The Commission notes that technical tests were not carried out to determine if the gun in
question was actually fired by Mr. Villamizar. In this regard, the Commission notes that the State did not
demonstrate that it had used all evidentiary, technical and scientific mechanisms to define the most basic
element of the controversy, this is, whether the death took place in a confrontation and in legitimate selfdefense, or whether it was an extrajudicial execution. Among the essential evidentiary elements there is, for
example, “paraffin test”, “fingerprinting”, or “atomic absorbtion” which could have determined whether the
gun was actually fired by Mr. Gelves. The Commission also considers, according to the explanation given by
the Office of the Prosecutor, that the condition in which the weapon was found “in a terrible state of
conservation” indicates that “the gun was not carried by anyone but rather that it was kept somewhere”. 162
Likewise, the Office of the Prosecutor denounced the inconsistencies concerning the highly-flammable
explosive-material that Mr. Gelves allegedly was carrying insofar as it did not explode after receiving multiple
shots and due to the movement of the body”. 163 Consequently, the Commission cannot validate the
statements of the State to the effect that the armaments were carried by Mr. Gelves and he himself fired the
gun in a confrontation.
101.
Second, according to the Office of the Prosecutor, the findings of the autopsy indicate that the
body presented “10 punctures produced by a firearm projectiles, “Wound I” with POSTERIOR-ANTERIORRIGHT-LEFT trajectory: DOWN-UP” and the 9 wounds with the following trajectory “ANTERIOR-POSTERIORRIGHT-LEFT: DOWN-UP”. 164 The Office of the Prosecutor explained with regard to the wounds with a
posterior-anterior trajectory that the “deceased at the time of receiving this wound, was lying face down
160 Annex. 36. Contentious-Administrative Tribunal of Arauca, judgment of Apri 13, 2000. Annexed to the written brief of the
petitioners, November 6, 2000.
161 Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Case Zambrano Vélez et al. v. Ecuador. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of
July 4, 2007. Series C No. 166. para. 108; I/A Court H.R. Case Montero Aranguren et al. (Detention Center of Catia), Judgment of July 5,
2006. Series C No. 150. para. 80; I/A Court H.R., Case of Baldeón-García. Judgment of April 6, 2006. Series C No. 147, para. 120.
162
Annex. 39. Fiscal Delgado, Colisión de Competencia, July 30, 1998. Annexed to the written brief of the petitioners, November
163
Annex. 39. Fiscal Delgado, Colisión de Competencia, July 30, 1998. Annexed to the written brief of the petitioners, November
6, 2000.
6, 2000.
164 The findings of the necropsy are refered to Annex. 39. in Fiscal Delgado, Colisión de Competencia, July 30, 1998. Annexed to
the written brief of the petitioners, November 6, 2000.