A prison of 'luxury': Here, inmates love captivity, hate 'freedom'

The prison has held around 64,000 inmates throughout its history. Last month, the last 584 of them were sent back to the mainland. In February, newly installed leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador decided to close the prison, saying the islands -- known for their beauty and biodiversity -- should not be a testament to 'punishment, torture and repression.' (Photo | AFP)

Low-risk inmates who were close to finishing their sentences were freed. The rest were sent to another prison in the arid, land-locked northern state of Coahuila. IN PIC: View of security fences of Islas Marias federal prison (Photo | AFP)

The jail, established in 1905, will now become the Jose Revueltas cultural center, named for a Mexican writer and political activist who was imprisoned here twice in the 1930s. Today, the prison looks almost like a ghost town, its streets empty except for the occasional golf cart driven by the remaining guards who have yet to be transferred to the mainland. IN PIC: A Christian cross in Islas Marias federal prison (Photo | AFP)

The prison consists of a series of cement houses where low-risk inmates lived, eight to a house, with cement beds and door-less bathrooms. Outside, they had access to an open-air gym, a garden, a woodworking shop and music classes. The maximum-security building has more traditional cells, with steel bars, two beds per cell, a toilet and a small space to sit. IN PIC: A cell inside Islas Marias federal prison (Photo | AFP)

The guards continue raising and lowering the Mexican flag over the prison each day, but have little to do in between. IN PIC: A member of the Mexican Navy stands guard in Islas Marias federal prison (Photo | AFP)

In 2010, UNESCO declared the islands a biosphere reserve, the UN agency's designation for specially protected, biodiverse regions. The rich array of wildlife on and around the islands includes their famous sharks -- the main impediment facing would-be fugitives. (Photo | AFP)

Few prisoners attempted to escape over the years. The ones who did often ended up roaming the island -- which measures 20 kilometers long by 10 kilometers wide -- hunting small animals for food, until they were recaptured. IN PIC: View of a chapel in Islas Marias federal prison (Photo | AFP)

Once a week, a boat ferries guards and supplies to the port of Mazatlan on the mainland, a trip that takes seven to 12 hours. Soon it will ferry the last guards back to shore, and the Maria Islands will begin a new chapter (Photo | AFP)