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Presidio Modelo: Cuba's Haunting Abandoned Prison and Fidel Castro's Historic Cell

Presidio Modelo: Cuba s Haunting Abandoned Prison and Fidel Castro s Historic Cell

Presidio Modelo is Isla de la Juventud's most striking yet somber landmark, located near Reparto Chacón, 5 km east of Nueva Gerona. Built between 1926 and 1931 under Gerardo Machado's repressive regime, its four yellow, six-story circular blocks—modeled on Illinois' Joliet Penitentiary—housed up to 5,000 inmates.

During World War II, the northern rectangular blocks interned enemy nationals in Cuba, including 350 Japanese, 50 Germans, and 25 Italians.

The prison's most notorious inmates were Fidel Castro and his Moncada rebels, held from October 1953 to May 1955 in the southern hospital building, separated from others.

Closed in 1967, Castro's section became a museum with exhibits on prison history and the Moncada prisoners. Explore the eerie, skeletal circular blocks for free—the most poignant part of the visit.


Tourist Attraction
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