Editing Presidio Modelo

{{Short description|Cuban museum and former jail}}
{{Distinguish|La Modelo}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2016}}
[[File:Presidio Modelo.JPG|thumb|Presidio Modelo in 2005]]

The '''Presidio Modelo''' was a "model [[prison]]" with [[panopticon]] design, built on the Isla de Pinos ("Isle of Pines"), now the [[Isle of Youth|Isla de la Juventud]] ("Isle of Youth"), in [[Cuba]]. It is located in the suburban quarter of Chacón, [[Nueva Gerona]].

== History ==
[[File:Presidio-modelo2.JPG|thumb|Inside one of the buildings]]

The prison was built under the President-turned-dictator [[Gerardo Machado]] between 1926 and 1931.<ref name="wordpress1">{{cite web|url=http://dprbcn.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/presidio-modelo-in-cuba-and-the-panopticon-idea/ |title=Presidio Modelo in Cuba and the panopticon idea « dpr-barcelona |publisher=Dprbcn.wordpress.com |date=April 18, 2012 |accessdate=November 6, 2012}}</ref> The five circular blocks, with cells constructed in tiers around central observation posts, were built with the capacity to house up to 5,000 prisoners.  The panopticon design allowed the guards to watch the prisoners constantly.

Thirty of the survivors of the rebel attacks on [[Moncada Barracks]] in July 1953{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}including [[Fidel Castro]] and his brother, [[Raúl Castro]]{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}were imprisoned there until 1955. At that time, the four circular buildings were packed with 6,000 men, every floor was filled with trash, there was no running water, food rations were meager, and the government supplied only the bare necessities of life.<ref>Wallace, Robert; Melton, H. Keith; Schlesinger, Henry R. (2008). ''Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda''. Penguin. pp. 258–259. {{ISBN|9781440635304}}.</ref> However, Castro and the other rebels were not kept in the circular buildings with their small cells and harsh conditions, but were instead kept in the hospital wing, which had a larger living area with better beds and living conditions.{{cn|date=August 2021}}

The dictator Fulgencio Batista had made the mistake of placing all the conspirators together in the hospital wing, and they proceeded to treat it as a revolutionary boot camp, congregating for daily lessons on politics and conducting secret communications with supporters around Cuba. "What a fantastic school this prison is!" Castro wrote in a letter. "From here I’m able to finish forging my vision of the world...".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cuba-solidarity.org.uk/cubasi_article.asp?ArticleID=115 |title=Cuba Solidarity Campaign : Cuba Si : Presidio Modelo, School of Revolutionaries |publisher=Cuba-solidarity.org.uk |accessdate=November 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104134736/http://www.cuba-solidarity.org.uk/cubasi_article.asp?ArticleID=115 |archivedate=November 4, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

After Castro's revolutionary triumph in 1959, Presidio Modelo remained in operation. By 1961, due to the overcrowded conditions (up to 4000 prisoners at one time), it was the site of various riots and [[hunger strike]]s, especially just before the [[Bay of Pigs invasion]], when orders were given to line the tunnels underneath the entire prison with several tons of [[TNT]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cubanet.org/prisiones/testimonios/30_1.htm |title=Testimonios - Colchones de dinamita y TNT para prisioneros |language=Spanish |accessdate=November 21, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616054703/http://www.cubanet.org/prisiones/testimonios/30_1.htm |archivedate=June 16, 2011 }}</ref>

Prominent Cuban political prisoners such as [[Armando Valladares]],{{cn|date=April 2021}} [[Roberto Martín Pérez]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eichikawa.com/2010/09/roberto-martin-perez-he-hecho-un-libro-polemico.html |title=Emilio Ichikawa » Roberto Martín Pérez: "He hecho un libro polémico" |publisher=Eichikawa.com |date=November 2, 2012 |accessdate=November 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311073806/http://eichikawa.com/2010/09/roberto-martin-perez-he-hecho-un-libro-polemico.html |archivedate=March 11, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and [[Pedro Luis Boitel]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ned.org/about/board/meet-our-president/archived-remarks-and-presentations/092409 |title=Pedro Luis Boitel and the Future of Freedom in Cuba &#124; National Endowment for Democracy |publisher=Ned.org |date= |accessdate=November 6, 2012}}</ref> were held there at one point or another during their respective incarcerations. It was permanently closed by the government in 1967.<ref name="wordpress1"/>

The prison now serves as a museum and has been declared a [[national monument]].  The old administration building now serves as a school and research center.

== See also ==
* [[Human rights in Cuba]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:1920s establishments in Cuba]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Isla de la Juventud]]
[[Category:Defunct prisons in Cuba]]
[[Category:Museums in Cuba]]
[[Category:Nueva Gerona]]
[[Category:Prison museums in North America]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Isla de la Juventud]]
[[Category:20th-century architecture in Cuba]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1928]]