Juan de Samaniego y Díez de Ulzurrun Xaca ("Jaca") y Roncal, better known just as Juan Samaniego y Jaca, was a prominent Spanish military officer who served as Governor of New Mexico between 1653 and 1656.
There, he had a distinguished military career, joining the Knights Hospitaller, a leading religious-military order.
In time, the Apaches attacked the Jumano village, kidnapping twenty-seven women and local children.
To rescue them, Samaniego sent a troop led by Juan Domínguez de Mendoza to the Apache village.
The Spaniards, led again by Dominguez de Mendoza, entered the Navajo village while they celebrated a ceremonial, and there they abducted 211 people and killed several more.