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What It Was Like To Be Held On The Most Dangerous Island Prison Colony In History

Weird History | January 13, 2026



Sending criminals and political troublemakers to remote islands has been a pretty normal thing throughout history – just ask Australia or Napoleon. In Central America, the former penal colony on Coiba Island was once home to some of Panama’s worst criminals and most threatening political enemies. The prisons on Coiba Island housed over 3,000 prisoners between 1919 and 2003, even after the island became part of Coiba National Park in 1991.

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Written by Weird History

Comments

This post currently has 42 comments.

  1. @relicofgold

    January 13, 2026 at 7:11 am

    I was at a resort on the other side (east side) of the Azuero peninsula, sitting at the pool. This place was an absolute nature display of pelicans and fish (seemingly making the water "boil") and birds. The bats just flew in, locked onto the insect they wanted, and flew away. Panama is a nature's paradise.

  11. @Tully_23_32

    January 13, 2026 at 7:11 am

    Saying there's 1400 animal species that hasn't been discovered yet is exactly like them saying that 75% of animal species in Australia hasn't been discovered yet. I don't understand how they know the amount & percentage of undiscovered animals if they haven't already discovered them

  13. @MikeG.666

    January 13, 2026 at 7:11 am

    Giant bats are mentioned a few times in this video. Humans don't have anything to fear from bats. Has anyone ever been killed by a bat ever? From rabies maybe. Baseball bats kill way more people, and they are ubiquitous.

  17. @doyoulikedinosaurs

    January 13, 2026 at 7:11 am

    hey WH! could y'all do a history of trans culture? the LGBT+ community is being ripped to shreds right now and we need positive and true content to be accessible for the people who don't know what they're talking about when they're just repeating vitriol they heard on FOX news. thanks!! #protecttranskids

  20. @kristeenab

    January 13, 2026 at 7:11 am

    I have never heard of this but when you started mentioning the treatment in the 90s, I was so shocked that this was still happening and I’ve never heard of it. I thought this was like early 20th century or something. This channel teaches me so much. 😮

  25. @mandiemoore3272

    January 13, 2026 at 7:11 am

    Have I been saying this wrong my entire life? I have always said "en mass" but for years now nearly every time it is said or written it is "on mass" I asked that question completely rhetorically because the two people who I have heard say it correctly are Neil deGrasse Tyson and Michio Kaku besides the fact that when I got out some old books just to check that's also the way Stephen King writes it. My point is that people just start saying things wrong because other people are staying in the wrong instead of pointing out the fact that they were actually right. Just cuz most people do a thing wrong doesn't make it right be the person who stands out stands up because if we don't point out people's mistakes they can't correct them

  36. @rubencitostyle

    January 13, 2026 at 7:11 am

    My brother did time in Coiba for an unknown number of illegal activities – he told stories of the hunting, fake executions as well as honor rows (running naked between two lines of guards that beat them with bats, barb wire, and whips) and the infamous upside down hangings where you were hung head down and beat the crap out of, and left there for several hours – he made out of there and always refers to Coiba as when he was in "La isla Bonita"

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