U.S. Delegation Uncovers Abuse of Prisoners on Con Son Island

Amid reports and allegations of South Vietnamese abuse of political prisoners and prisoners of war, U.S. congressmen Augustus F. Hawkins (D-CA) and William R. Anderson (D-TN) tour a South Vietnamese prison on Con Son Island, approximately 50 miles off the coast of South Vietnam. They discover that the facility holds a number of prisoners in squalid conditions, including some held in underground concrete pits, covered by iron bars. In their report, the congressmen dub the cells “tiger cages,” and note that their occupants—as many as five prisoners per each six-foot-by-ten-foot cell—are shackled to the floor so that they are barely able to move. The occupants—most of whom are Viet Cong, civilian, and North Vietnamese prisoners—are generally malnourished and lack sufficient medical care.

Pictures of the Con Son prisoners appear in the July 17, 1970 issue of Life Magazine. The story and the congressional delegation’s report spark outcry in the United States as well as accusations that the U.S. government is complicit in the prisoner abuse. The revelations threaten to hinder ongoing peace negotiations with North Vietnam. The U.S. State Department demands that the American mission in Saigon address the problems immediately, and the U.S. government presses South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu for reforms. The International Red Cross steps up its inspections of South Vietnamese military prisons, but the “tiger cages” of Con Son become a potent symbol for the antiwar movement.¹