115. According to the accounts of the survivors, who heard the shots and saw columns of smoke, the soldiers began the killings in Jocote Amarillo between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. on December 13, 1981.136 As established in the merits report and acknowledged by the State, the gunfire, and the screams of anguish and pain were constant, and “the appeals for mercy of those who were being killed.” On returning, those who had been able to flee found the corpses of their family members, some of them carbonized, and proceeded to bury them.137 All the houses had been reduced to ashes.138 116. As established in the Commission’s merits report and acknowledged by the State, at that time it had been determined that approximately 23 people were executed in the village of Jocote Amarillo. This is without prejudice to the determination that will opportunely be made by the Court in this Judgment, based on the criteria described previously for determining victims (supra para. 57). h) The massacre in Cerro Pando canton and in a cave on Cerro Ortiz 117. The canton of Cerro Pando, in the municipality of Meanguera, was located about 4 kilometers south of the village of El Mozote, in the department of Morazán. 118. When the soldiers arrived on December 13, 1981, many people were already hiding in the woods.139 Nevertheless, at 8 a.m., the appeals for mercy of the adults and the screams of the children who had remained in their homes began to be heard as they were killed.140 Then, the houses were set on fire,141 so that many of these people were found carbonized by their next of kin or devoured by birds of prey.142 136 Cf. Witness statement made by Juan Bautista Márquez before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on October 30, 1990 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1657); Witness statement made by Domingo Vigil Amaya before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on January 30, 1991 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1715), and Victim statement made by Vigil Amaya before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on March 5, 1991 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1741). 137 Cf. Witness statement made by Domingo Vigil Amaya before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on January 30, 1991 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1715); Victim statement made by Vigil Amaya before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on March 5, 1991 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1742); Witness statement made by Juan Bautista Márquez before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on October 30, 1990 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1657); Summary of forensic work, village of Jocote Amarillo, Sites 1, 2, 3 and 4, prepared by the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF), of July 13, 2000 (evidence file, tome V, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folios 3719 to 3722), and Record of judicial inspection in the village of Jocote Amarillo, in Guacamaya canton, jurisdiction of Meanguera, district of Jocoaitique, department of Morazán, on July 29, 1992 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folios 2301 to 2303). 138 Cf. Sworn statement made by Alejandro Hernández Argueta before the Oficina de Tutela Legal del Arzobispado on August 3, 2011 (evidence file, tome VIII, annex 3 to the pleadings and motions brief, folio 5573). 139 Cf. Victim statement made by Lidia Chicas Mejía before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on August 21, 1992 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 2351). 140 Cf. Victim statement made by Lidia Chicas Mejía before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on August 21, 1992 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 2352), and Witness statement made by Lidia Chicas Mejía before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on August 21, 1992 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folios 2355 and 2356). 141 Cf. Witness statement made by Bernardino Guevara Chicas before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on January 23, 1991 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1706). 142 Cf. Affidavit provided by Antonia Guevara Díaz on April 1, 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10287); Affidavit provided by José Pablo Díaz Portillo on April 1, 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10298); Sworn statement made by Santos Jacobo Chicas Guevara before the Oficina de Tutela Legal del Arzobispado on June 20, 2011 (evidence file, tome VIII, annex 3 to the pleadings and motions brief, folio 5540), and Witness statement made by Bernardino Guevara Chicas before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on January 23, 1991 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1708). See also, Record of judicial inspection in the village of El Barrial, Cerro Pando canton, jurisdiction of Meanguera, district of Jocoaitique, department of Morazán, on August 12, 1992 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 2318). 37