MARTN GARCA ISLAND

Spanish Isla Martn Garca, island, historically a strategic control point in the estuary of Ro de la Plata, near the mouth of the Uruguay and Paran rivers, between Argentina and Uruguay. The island (0.7 square mile [2 square km]) is a part of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. In March 1814 it was taken from the Spaniards by the forces of the Argentine admiral Guillermo Brown. Prisoners from the Indian Wars of 1879 were interned on the rocky island, which was also a place of exile for various presidents of Argentina, including Hiplito Irigoyen (1930), Juan Pern (1945), and Arturo Frondizi (1962). An agreement reached by Argentina and Uruguay in 1973 reaffirmed Argentine jurisdiction over Martn Garca (which is actually on the Uruguayan side of the boundary), ending a century-old dispute between the two countries over the island. According to the terms of the agreement, Martn Garca was to be devoted exclusively to a natural preserve.