Xicotencatl was described by Castillo as, “…a tall man, broad shouldered, and well built, with a large fresh coloured face, full of scars, as if pitted with the smallpox.

Maxixcatzin, the ruler of Ocotelolco, was in favour of allying with the Spaniards, but Xicotencatl II opposed this idea and continued to fight, nearly wiping out the Spanish force.

However, in a crucial moment, the soldiers from Ocotelolco retreated from the battlefield following the orders of Maxixcatzin, and Xicotencatl was forced to accept the proposed peace treaty.

When the final stage of the siege of Tenochtitlan was about to be carried out, Xicotencatl marched on the Aztec capital as the leader of a Tlaxcaltec force,[1]: 353–355  attacking from the north and passing by Texcoco.

The night before the final march, he was apprehended and accused of treason by Cortés and by the Ocotelolcan warleader Chichimecateuctli, who said that he had tried to flee back to Tlaxcala.