Martín García Island (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Martín García Island (Spanish: Isla Martín García) is the southern half of an island in the Río de la Plata. Martín García is in Uruguayan waters and was disputed between Argentina and Uruguay, but in 1973 they reached an agreement establishing it as Argentine territory to be used solely as a nature reserve. With an area of 1.84 km2 (0.71 sq mi), it has a permanent population of about 150 people (50 families), and falls within the jurisdiction of Buenos Aires Province. The island is accessible by air through Martín García Island Airport. The northern half of the island is known as Timoteo Domínguez and is Uruguayan territory; it emerged from the river as a sandbank in the 1960s and grew to merge with Martín García Island in the 1980s. The historical island of Martín García was strategically located, and was the site of a fortification built in the 1820s by Argentine forces to deny the Brazilian navy access to the Uruguay River. This fort, named Constitución, succeeded in keeping Brazilian reinforcements at bay during the Battle of Juncal between 8 and 9 February 1827, allowing the Argentines to destroy the Brazilian squadron operating on the Uruguay River during the Cisplatine War. Several Argentine political figures have been held under arrest at the island by military governments, including presidents Hipólito Yrigoyen (1930), Juan Perón (1945), and Arturo Frondizi (1962).