Isla de la Luna (translation: "Island of the Moon") is an island in La Paz Department, Bolivia. It is situated in Lake Titicaca, east of Isla del Sol ("Island of the Sun"). Legends in Incamythology refer to the island as the location where Viracocha commanded the rising of the moon. Archeological ruins of an Inca nunnery were found on the eastern shore.[1]
During the 20th century, the Bolivian Ministry of the Interior used the Isla de la Luna as a detention center for political prisoners.[2] It was believed that escape from the island prison was nearly impossible given that the surrounding waters of Lake Titicaca were ice cold, and even a skilled swimmer would die of hypothermia attempting the escape. Nevertheless, through the decades there were a number of celebrated escapes from the island. In September 1949, Hernan Siles Zuazo, Emilio Sfeir, and others escaped, obtaining political asylum in Peru.
[3]
