The second wave of Conversos came to Santa Cruz de la Sierra after 1570, when the Spanish Inquisition began operating in Lima. Alleged "marranos" (that is, New Christians whom others rightly or wrongly suspected of crypto-Judaism), settled in Potosi, La Paz and La Plata. After they gained economic success in mining and commerce, they faced suspicion and persecution from the Inquisition and local authorities. Most of these "marrano" families moved to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as it was an isolated urban settlement where the Inquisition did not bother the conversos. Most of the converso settlers were men, and many intermarried with indigenous or mestizo women, founding mixed-race or mestizo families. Conversos also settled in adjacent towns of Vallegrande, Postrervalle, Portachuelo, Terevinto, Pucara, Cotoca and others.