A/HRC/45/CRP.11 1079. Having no information on the young man’s whereabouts, his relatives went to look for him in the Forty-Third GNB detachment in El Paraíso parish. An officer told the family that they were verifying his criminal record and that he would be transferred, to the Zone 7 PNB headquarters in Boleíta, at 3 a.m, along with other detainees. At 6 a.m. on 14 July 2015, his relatives found out that he was not among this group. They then decided to go to the morgue, where they eventually found him dead.1914 1080. The Medicine and Forensic Sciences National Service performed autopsies on the 15 men on 13 and 14 July 2015. The Mission had access to the autopsy reports, according to which, 14 victims had gunshot wounds in vital body parts. 1915 In nine cases victims died of hypovolemic shock from a gunshot wound to the chest. In four cases, the cause of the death was skull fracture from a gunshot wound to the head. In one case, the victim presented hypovolemic shock caused by gunshot wounds to the head, thorax and abdomen. In three of the 14 cases, the victims’ bodies presented gunpowder marks in the head and chest (right temporal regional, left nasal bridge and sternal chest region, respectively), which indicate a very close-range shot. Official Statements 1081. Official statements confirming the deaths claimed the victims died either in crossfire or “resisting authority”. In the press conference following the operation, the Minister of the Interior described the 14 deaths and injuries to 1 person (who later died), as having been “a result of a confrontation”.1916 On 14 July 2015, the day after the operation, the Vice Minister of Internal Policy and Legal Security made a radio statement congratulating security forces for the operation. He noted that there was a low number of deceased: “Those were types that resisted before any actions by the justice could be taken and confronted [police], [thus] receiving shots by our security and intelligence agencies”.1917 1082. Other Government representatives echoed the explanation given by the Ministry of the Interior regarding causes of death. Three days after the operation, then-Ombudsman, Tarek William Saab, told the press that the security forces were “confronted” upon entering Cota 905, without providing further details.1918 The then-Attorney General, Luisa Ortega Díaz, also spoke publicly two days after the operation, claiming that the objectives of the operation had been achieved in accordance with the Constitution and with respect for human rights.1919 There is no information indicating that police or military personnel were killed or wounded in the operation. In total, 14 firearms and 2 grenades were seized in the Cota 905 operation.1920 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 Contrapunto, Detenidos por la PNB en La Cota 905 fueron localizados muertos en la morgue de Bello Monte, 16 August 2015, available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20150816145532/http://www.contrapunto.com:80/noticia/pnb-impidedeclarar-a-familiares-de-los-abatidos-en-operativo-en-la-cota-905/. Document C4FF13 on file with the Mission. YouTube video, Luigino Bracci Roa, González López: Mueren 14 maleantes en Cota 905, operativos en Betania y Ciudad Tiuna, 13 July 2015, from minute 07:16, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vd3TEAC16I. Radio Mundial, Grupos paramilitares que operan en el país serán deportados (+Audio), 14 July 2015, minute 01:15, available at: http://www.radiomundial.com.ve/sites/default/files//ENTREVISTA.mp3. Noticias Globovisión, Defensoría está abierta a denuncias tras operativo en La Cota 905, minute19:20, available at: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2y468r. Radio Mundial, Serán presentadas 19 personas detenidas en operativo de seguridad en La Cota 905, 15 July 2015, available at: http://www.radiomundial.com.ve/article/ser%C3%A1n-presentadas-19personas-detenidas-en-operativo-de-seguridad-en-la-cota-905. YouTube Video, Luigino Bracci Roa, González López: Mueren 14 maleantes en Cota 905, operativos en Betania y Ciudad Tiuna, 13 July 2015, minute 6:33, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vd3TEAC16I. 213