Presidio Modelo

The Presidio Modelo was a "model prison" of Panopticon design, built on the former Isla de Pinos (now the Isla de la Juventud) in Cuba "(in factFact|date=August 2008 built after the model of Stateville Correctional Center in Illinois)".

The prison was built under the dictator Gerardo Machado in the period 1926–1931, and held 6000 prisoners.

Most of the survivors of the rebel attacks on Moncada Barracks and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes garrisons, including Fidel Castro, were imprisoned there from 1953 to 1955.

The prison now serves as a museum and is declared a National Monument, and the old administration-building now serves as a school and research centre for young people.

External links

* [http://www.cuba-museums.com/en/isla_de_la_juventud.asp Museum “Presidio Modelo”]
* [http://presidiomodelo.blogspot.com/ Presidio Modelo]