[citation needed] Little is known of the pre-Columbian history of the island, though a cave complex near the Punta del Este beach preserves 235 ancient drawings made by the native population,[6] the Guanahatabey.

The Platt Amendment of 1901, which defined Cuba's boundaries for the purposes of U.S. authorities, left the U.S. position on sovereignty over the then Isla de Pinos undetermined.

[8][9][10] In 1907, the U.S. Supreme Court decided, in Pearcy v. Stranahan, that control of the island was a political decision, not a judicial one.

The U.S. Senate ratified this agreement on March 13, 1925, over the objections of some four hundred United States citizens and companies, who owned or controlled about 95% of the island's land.

With the political and administrative reorganization of Cuban provinces in 1976, the island was given the status of "special municipality".

Until the Cuban government expropriated all foreign-owned property in the early 1960s, much land was owned by Americans, and the island contained a branch of the Hilton Hotels chain.

In the 2012 official census, the Special Municipality of Isla de la Juventud had a population of 84,751.

Hydrofoils (kometas) and motorized catamarans will make the journey from Batabanó to Nueva Gerona in between two and three hours.

A much slower and larger cargo ferry takes around six hours to make the crossing but is cheaper.

They included Huber Matos, an officer in the revolutionary army who attempted to resign and who said he was tortured there.