Alvarado, fearing that he is entering a…

Alvarado, fearing that he is entering a trap, enters Q'umarkaj in March 1524 at the invitation of the remaining lords of the K'iche' after their catastrophic defeat.

He encamps on the plain outside the city rather than accepting lodgings inside.

Fearing the great number of K'iche' warriors gathered outside the city and that his cavalry will not be able to maneuver in the narrow streets of Q'umarkaj, he invites the leading lords of the city, Oxib-Keh (the king) and Beleheb-Tzy (the king elect) to visit him in his camp.

As soon as they do so, he seizes them and keeps them as prisoners in his camp.

The K'iche' warriors, seeing their lords taken prisoner, attack the Spaniards' indigenous allies and manage to kill one of the Spanish soldiers.

At this point Alvarado decides to have the captured K'iche' lords burned to death, and then proceeds to burn the entire city.

After the destruction of Q'umarkaj and the execution of its rulers, Pedro de Alvarado sends messages to Iximche, capital of the Kaqchikel, proposing an alliance against the remaining K'iche' resistance.