 Beltrán de Guzmán, president of the Audiencia, left the capital on an expedition to conquer western Mexico on December 21, 1529, leaving Ortiz in charge.The Audiencia banned direct communication with the Court in Spain.This was so effective that Bishop Juan de Zumárraga, who also held the royal office of Protector of the Indians, felt the necessity of hiding a letter sealed in wax in a cask, to be smuggled to the Spanish authorities by a confederate sailor.