69 298. Further evidence of the lack of due diligence was the absence of any response from the military authorities. In the course of the investigations into the massacre in the village of Chichupac, the attorney with the Public Prosecution Service requested information from military personnel, concerning the names of the persons who were soldiers in the Army during that period. The reply received was that there was no military post in the area and that they had no such information. The same lack of responsiveness was evident in the lack of information concerning the Guatemalan Army platoons detailed to the area, despite the fact that the testimony received is consistent in pointing out that in addition to patrolmen, soldiers were involved in the facts denounced. 299. The obstruction of state officials’ investigations in the course of a criminal case involving human rights seriously impairs the effort to identify and punish those responsible, especially when agents of the State are involved. In response to this obstruction, no evidence exists suggesting any follow-up or that enforcement mechanisms were brought to bear to ensure prompt access to information that would shed light on the facts. The obstruction of justice was not limited to investigative omissions; evidence of a cover-up was also unmistakable, which began when the events occurred and continued throughout the investigations. 300. As for the inquiries into the other events that the present case involves, the Commission notes that apart from the statements taken and exhumations in some cases, nothing was ever done to identify and punish those responsible, with the result that no one has been made to answer for any of these crimes. The IACHR observes that in various cases, the victims’ next of kin identified and named members of the Guatemalan Army, state authorities or civilians who participated in the events; even so, the Commission has managed to establish that the State took no legal measure to identify or investigate them. 301. The Commission further considers that the State has not conducted an exhaustive identification of the exhumed remains and has failed to take measures to locate the whereabouts of the remains of the disappeared victims. 302. Although certain family members have given direct information concerning the possible authors of the events, the authorities failed to take any action to determine the criminal culpability of the military personnel involved or to investigate the role played by higher-ranking Army officers or public officials. 303. In conclusion, the Commission considers that, at the domestic level, the investigation into the facts of the present case has been neither complete nor exhaustive. On the contrary, it has been extremely deficient since no efforts were made to follow through with the investigation into what happened and identify and punish all those responsible. 2.6.2. Reasonable time 304. One of the elements of due process required under Article 8(1) of the American Convention is that the courts decide the cases submitted to their jurisdiction within a reasonable time. Hence, a protracted delay can, in itself, constitute a violation of judicial guarantees.387 Thus, it is for the 387 I/A Court H.R., Case of García Asto and Ramírez Rojas v. Peru. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 25, 2005. Series C No. 137, par.166; Case of Gómez Palomino v. Peru. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of