Built in 1859 to be utilized as a city jail, it later left a imposing mark within the history of the island after being assaulted by a group of youths lead by Fidel Castro that had the objective of seizing the Military Garrison and then heading for the mountains near the city of Santiago de Cuba to initiate their fight against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.
It owes its name to a popular Mambí General who was seized and imprisoned at the site by Spanish colonialists.
It currently houses the School City 26 de Julio.