15 no news of her son. She asks people whether they have news of him and when they tell her that she should accept that he is dead, she asks where his remains are. She speaks incoherently, she wakes frequently, and she has lost her appetite. Her aunt, Torcoroma Flórez, was very affected by the events because she looked after the alleged victim and depended on him financially and emotionally. She felt great assurance, owing to his financial support. She has been unable to overcome the feeling of helplessness resulting from the “disappearance” of her brother, and feels that each day “she wastes away a little more.” The witness thinks that if her uncle had not been “disappeared”, she would have been able to undertake university studies, because he encouraged her education. The alleged victim hoped that his sons would study, and also to leave them “a wellordered house.” The witness asked the Court to ensure that justice is done, that the facts are clarified and do not remain unpunished, and that the remains of the alleged victim are returned in order to give them burial. The witness believes that this would bring peace and tranquility to the family. The witness was afraid to testify, fearing reprisals against herself or her family. c) Testimony of Luz Marina Pérez Quintero, permanent companion of the alleged victim, Antonio Flórez Contreras The witness lived with Antonio Flórez Contreras from 1980 until his “disappearance.” They had four children: Alejandro, Angélica Librada, Nixon Andrés and Magreth Karina. Also, when she started to live with Antonio Flórez Contreras, the witness had a son, Luis Antonio Villamizar Pérez, who the alleged victim “adopted as his own son.” When Mr. Flórez Contreras disappeared, the witness was eight months pregnant. Antonio Flórez Contreras was 35 years of age at the time of the events. He drove a blue van, which he owned together with Álvaro Lobo Pacheco. They transported merchandise, which they bought in Venezuela and sold in Medellín. Antonio was a very responsible, affectionate person, devoted to his home, and he had an excellent relationship with the witness. All his earnings, which at that time were about forty thousand pesos a month, were devoted to household expenses and maintenance, and to his children's schooling. Before he began his last trip, Antonio told the witness that he would be carrying merchandise with a value of seventy-two million pesos. He also told the witness that this would be his last trip because, during the previous trip, he had had problems with the vehicle, and also someone had told him that that stretch of the road was very dangerous owing to the presence of “armed men.” Antonio explained to the witness that the territory was controlled by “selfdefense” or “paramilitary” groups in collaboration with the Police and the Army, on the one hand, and by the guerrilla, on the other hand. Before the “disappearance” of the alleged victim, the witness worked as a teacher, but her income was dedicated to financing the needs of her parents and three sisters who were epileptic. When Antonio “disappeared,” the witness made several trips to Bogotá to find out about his whereabouts in the district attorney’s office, where they told her that “they