San Juan Cotzal (Spanish pronunciation: [saŋ ˈxwaŋ koˈtsal]) is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of El Quiché.

[3] As time went by, the K'iche' warriors realized that the aj K'ub'ul life was very different from the one they were used to have under the ruling of their king, as they simply worked on their land and crops and then enjoyed their families without having to worry about being invaded or called to fight in a war.

They went back to their place of origin, Tujalj (Sacapulas and Canillá), but only to pick up their families, and went on to settle a new community where they were once stationed to keep an eye on the aj K'ub'ul.

[a] In the 10 years after the fall of Zaculeu, commencing in 1525, various Spanish expeditions crossed into the Sierra de Los Cuchumatanes and engaged in the gradual and complex conquest of the Chuj and Q'anjob'al.

[8] The Spanish army then marched east toward Uspantán itself; Arias then received notice that the acting governor of Guatemala, Francisco de Orduña, had deposed him as a magistrate.

The Spanish forces were routed with heavy losses; many of their indigenous allies were slain, and many more were captured alive by the Uspantek warriors only to be sacrificed on the altar of their deity Exbalamquen.

The expedition rested at Chichicastenango and recruited further forces before marching seven leagues northwards to Sacapulas and climbed the steep southern slopes of the Cuchumatanes.

The Spanish continued east towards Uspantán to find it defended by 10,000 warriors, including forces from Cotzal, Cunén, Sacapulas, and Verapaz.

[11] According to an official census performed by the Guatemalan National Statistics Institute (INE), the municipality had a total population of 14,137 in 1994; in 2002 this grew by 42% and in 2008 a study determined that there was an additional 29% increase.