Villa Marista is a prison in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, notorious for its detention of political prisoners by the

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n national security agency. Its prisoners have included dissident Vladimiro Roca and politician Jesús Escandell.

Villa Marista school

Villa Marista was originally a Catholic school for boys and a seminary for future Marist brothers. Prior to the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

, the school was run by the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute of Religious brother, brothers. In 1817, Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from Fr ...

. After the revolutionary government expropriated the school and grounds from the Marist Brothers, the brothers were spread to other Marist schools around the world, including Miami, Florida USA, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. In addition to the three schools in Havana the Marist Brothers also had another school in the city of Cienfuegos and Holguin.

References

External links

A Visit to Villa Marista, Cuban State Security Headquarters (Video)
Buildings and structures in Havana Prisons in Cuba {{Prison-stub