the context of a State “scorched earth” policy designed to achieve the total destruction of the communities. 174. The facts of this case allow it to be concluded that the violation of the personal integrity of the survivors has been constituted by the situations and circumstances they experienced before, during and after the massacres, as well as by the general context in which the events occurred, resulting in violations that continue over time while the factors of impunity that have been verified persist. Based on all the foregoing considerations, the Court concludes that the said acts entailed cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, contrary to Article 5(1) and 5(2) of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) of this instrument, to the detriment of the surviving victims. 175. As has been proved, the Armed Forces set fire to the homes, stripped the victims of their possessions, destroyed and burned their crops, and killed their animals, which entailed the definitive loss of the victims’ property and the destruction of their homes. Also, the Report of the Truth Commission for El Salvador determined that in the village of El Mozote “[a]fter exterminating the entire population, the soldiers set the buildings on fire,”232 and that, in all cases, “the troops acted in the same way: they killed those they encountered, men, women and children, and then set fire to the people’s homes.”233 176. The testimony received by the Court in this case reveals the violation of the right to property of the victims who survived the massacres. In this regard, Juan Bautista Marquez Argueta declared that, in the village of El Mozote, “the army went through the entire area [where] it set fire to crops and killed domestic animals, all of this to ensure that nothing was left for the population to use as a means of survival.”234 Antonia Guevara Díaz stated that “about ten soldiers came to her home [in Cerro Pando], and in a threatening and violent manner demanded that they leave the house and go away immediately, warning them that, if they did not, they would be murdered. […She] left immediately with her immediate family, and the only belongings she could take with her were a mat and a blanket, losing all the other belongings such as the basic grains they had grown all year long, the animals and personal items, because the soldiers […] set fire to the house.”235 Juan Antonio Pereira Vigil stated that, in the village of Los Toriles, he “lost all the livestock, horses, chickens, pigs, and the basic grains that were in the silos; [his] crops were set fire to, his house was sacked, leaving only rubble, and many personal items were removed by the solders of the Atlacatl battalion.”236 María del Rosario López Sánchez indicated that in La Joya “[a]ll the homes of the survivors [and of those] who died there were set on fire, including [her own].”237 177. The case file also contains various statements made before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera, which also refer to the violation of the right to property. Pedro Chicas Romero indicated that, on December 10, 1981, “the soldiers entered the villages of Mozote and La Joya, and that, on December 11, they massacred all the people, set fire to their homes, and killed their animals, livestock, pigs and hens,”238 leaving in one house a note that 232 Cf. Report of the Truth Commission for El Salvador, From madness to hope: the 12-year war in El Salvador, 1992-1993 (evidence file, tome II, annex 1 to the submission of the case, folios 1196 and 1197). 233 Report of the Truth Commission for El Salvador, From madness to hope: the 12-year war in El Salvador, 19921993 (evidence file, tome II, annex 1 to the submission of the case, folio 1197). 234 Affidavit provided by Juan Bautista Márquez Argueta on April 1, 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folios 10276 to 10277). 235 Affidavit provided by Antonia Guevara Díaz on April 1, 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10286).). 236 Affidavit provided by Juan Antonio Pereira Vigil on April 2, 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10289). 237 Statement made by María del Rosario López Sánchez before the Inter-American Court during the public hearing held on April 23, 2012. 238 Witness statement made by Pedro Chicas Romero before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on July 1, 1992 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 2159). 56