24 whereabouts of their next of kin, the witness and his companions returned to Ocaña. This first trip lasted around seventeen days. After returning to Ocaña, they continued without any information about the whereabouts of the tradesmen. The witness, together with four other next of kin of the tradesmen organized a second trip to look for them. During this trip they covered the same route as the first search trip. However, the second trip was quicker, because they knew that they were in danger. In Puerto Araujo, they stayed at the El Diamante Hotel; the same hotel in which the tradesmen had stayed. At first the woman in charge of the hotel told them that she could not let them stay, because “there were many members of the paramilitary groups;” then she allowed them to stay, but warned them that she could not answer for their lives. At approximately 10.30 p.m., some men arrived in jeeps and said “it smells of new meat.” That night, the witness and the tradesmen's other next of kin slept under the beds in the room. The next day, the woman in charge of the hotel recommended that they leave, because the men were looking for them; she also told them that the vehicles in which the tradesmen had been traveling had been taken by the soldiers of the Puerto Araujo base. The witness and his companions went to the Puerto Araujo military base, where they were informed by some soldiers that the cars had been seized, and had been taken by the Army, probably to the “paramilitary” post or to the Bárbula Battalion. The witness and his companions went to that Battalion to ask; however, when they arrived, they saw that a jeep and two vans, one with a machine gun mounted on top, were approaching and that “the paramilitary personnel entered” the Battalion, so they decided not to ask. Subsequently, they went to Puerto Boyacá to talk to the Police and the Mayor. The asked the latter to help them, telling him that it was very probable that the Army had their next of kin's vehicles. The Mayor told them they should go and ask Henry Pérez, who was a “commander” of the “paramilitary group,” or they should ask the Army Commander. The witness and the other next of kin of the alleged victims left Puerto Boyacá and went to have lunch at a hotel located in a place known as the “Y”. While they were there, several people arrived in a jeep, two vans and other cars, and entered. The witness saw when a tall, thin man entered, with a cowboy (llanero) hat and boots, with his guns “on his belt” and a grenade. The witness assumed that the man was Henry Pérez, but could not say anything to him at that time. The woman from the hotel recommended they leave cautiously and ask for information in a bar in Nutrias. When the witness and the other next of kin of the alleged victims were in Doradal, two men on a motorcycle approached them, asked whether they were looking for the men who had disappeared, and said they would join the group. The witness told them it was very dangerous to travel by motorcycle. However, the two men said they would return to the highway leading to the Bárbula Battalion. The witness and his brother explained the route that the two men should follow. Later, the search group found a very poor woman who gave them food and warned them that they should be careful, because armed “paramilitary personnel” were in the area and the same could happen to them as had happened to “the ones who disappeared.” The woman told them that several days previously, some men had passed by in a van with sacks, which they took to the farm of Henry Pérez; she assumed the sacks contained corpses which they were taking to throw into the river or into a lake near that farm. The witness and his companions were horrified and decided to go back and speak to Henry Pérez. On the way, they did not see the two men on the motorcycle. They found Henry Pérez in a bar and asked him whether he had any information on the whereabouts of the tradesmen. Henry Pérez told them he was the “commander” of that region and had not seen anyone; furthermore, he ordered