It was known as the Alcatraz of Panama. But unlike San Francisco’s infamous prison, the Coiba Island Penal Colony didn’t just have sharks off its shoreline to instill a fear of escape. Inmates also contended with scorching jungle temperatures, intense tropical storms, outdoor prison cells, and ferocious alligators roaming the island. These harsh factors not only encouraged redemption, they also kept human activity away from the island, creating a rich natural biosphere for when the prison reformed into a national park. From 1919 to 2004, the penal colony housed Panama’s…
