[3] It became known nationally as one of the most infamous examples of human rights violations by the Peruvian state during the country's 20 years of terrorism insurgency (1980–2000).

According to the Center for Justice and Accountability, the massacre occurred as follows: "In August 1985, the Army’s Chief of the Political-Military Command for the “emergency zone” ordered one of his officers to devise an operational plan to “capture and/or destroy terrorist elements” in an area of Accomarca known as Quebrada de Huancayoc.

They were lined-up single file and herded into houses of death, where Hurtado and his soldiers repeatedly shot ...family members, and then burned them alive amidst desperate screams for mercy.

In 1993, Peruvian Army officer Telmo Ricardo Hurtado was convicted by the military justice system for abusing his authority and giving false statements in connection with his involvement in the massacre.

[3][permanent dead link‍] In 2008, a judge in Miami ruled that Hurtado was responsible for the massacre and ordered him to pay $37 million to the victims.