The Federal Government said Monday it has transferred all the inmates from the infamous Isla Marias prison, the last island penal colony in a hemisphere once dotted with remote island jails like the one depicted in the movie “Papillon.”

About 584 of the prisoners have been moved to mainland jails in the northern border state of Coahuila, and 68 were taken elsewhere or released.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the islands will be turned into a cultural and environmental education center. The four islands — only one of which is inhabited — are located 70 miles (110 kilometers) off the Pacific coast of Nayarit state.

Oscar Perez Barros, Sinaloa’s Tourism Secretary announced that there is also a tourism-based project slated for the Islands.

“Grupo Vidanta is interested in building a hotel complex on the island as well as in Playa Espiritu. Grupo Vidanta was the first one interested in buying 15 hectares of land at Playa Espiritu.” said the Secretary

Grupo Vidanta are owners of the “Vidanta Elegant” cruise ship that has been revamped and the Group will be announcing soon the route starting from Puerto Vallarta and visiting Mazatlan. In the future the project will include visits to Playa Espiritu and the Marias Islands.

Lopez Obrador said the new Islas Marias cultural center will be named after Jose Revueltas, a novelist who was imprisoned there and wrote the novel “Walls of Water.”

“Jose Revueltas must be happy, wherever he is, because this site, these islands will become camps for young people to visit them and get to know and protect nature,” said Lopez Obrador