Martin Garcia island

Martin Garcia Island is located only about 3.3 kilometers off the coast of Uruguay in the territorial waters of this country but its sovereignty belongs to Argentina. On this island there was a military barracks and then turned into prison for political prisoners or slaves. In it were confined several indigenous leaders made prisoners after the conquest of the desert of 1879 organized by the Argentine state to expel the natives from their lands. Also presidents like Hipólito Yrigoyen, Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, Juan Domingo Perón and Arturo Frondizi were confined in the prison of the island by the military forces that overthrew to the constitutional governments. (Except with Juan D. Peron). Today the ruins of the island were declared cultural heritage and the entire island declared as a national park and wildlife reserve.