List of 53 “Island Lords” of the Hell on Earth – Côn Lôn Prison

Mentioning Côn Đảo instantly brings to mind a painful yet heroic chapter of Vietnamese history — a place once known as “hell on earth,” where ruthless prison governors ruled with cruelty, and countless prisoners endured years of hard labor, torture, and suffering like a long, dark medieval night.

Though Côn Đảo is a beautiful archipelago of 16 islands with emerald seas and pristine nature, it was transformed by French colonialists into a penal colony used to exile and imprison those they deemed “dangerous”: patriots, revolutionaries, political prisoners, and hard-labor convicts.

Côn Đảo Prison soon became infamous for its brutal torture systems: tiger cages, dark cells, rice-grinding pits, cow sheds, manure pits, and countless inhumane methods. To operate this prison system, the French appointed extremely cruel wardens known officially as “Le Directeur du Pénitencier”. But because of their notorious brutality, prisoners called them “Island Lords” — men who held absolute power over the Côn Sơn penal colony.

39 Island Lords Under French Colonial Rule

Below is the list of the 39 prison governors during the French period:

1. Navy Captain ROUSSEL (1862–1863)
2. Navy Captain BIZOT (1863–1864)
3. Navy Lieutenant BENOISI (1864–1866)
4. Marine Infantry Captain BOUBE (1866–1869)
5. Navy Captain STIEDEL (1869–1870)
6. Navy Captain CLAUDOT (1870–1871)
7. Navy Captain GAUDOT (1871–1872)
8. Marine Infantry Captain CHEVILLET (1872–1874)
9. Marine Infantry Captain SYMPHOZ (1874–1875)
10. Colonial Administrator MORINE (1875–1876)
11. Navy Colonel PASQUET DE LA PROUE (1876–1877)
12. Naval Chief Clerk DISNEMATINDORAT (1877–1878)
13. Colonial Administrator PASQUET DE LA BROUE (1878–1882)
14. Colonial Administrator BOCOUET (1882–1884)
15. Colonial Administrator CAFFORT (1884–1887)
16. General Secretary SELLIER (1887–1890)
17. Colonial Administrator RENE (1890–1892)
18. Retired Naval Chief Clerk JACQUET (1892–1896)
19. Law Graduate COLBERTURGIS (1896–1898)
20. Colonial Administrator MORIZET (1898–1908)
21. Colonial Administrator MELAYE (1908–1909)
22. Colonial Administrator CUDENET (1909–1913)
23. Colonial Administrator DEGAILLAND (1913–1914)
24. Colonial Administrator OCONET (1914–1916)
25. Colonial Administrator ROYER (1916–1917)
26. Reserve Police Captain ANDOUARD (1917–1919)
27. Expeditionary Legion Captain LAMBERT (1919–1927)
28. Colonial Administrator BOVIER (1927–1934)
29. Police Officer CREMAZY (1934–1935)
30. Colonial Administrator BOVIER (1935–1942)
31. Gendarmerie Captain BROUILLONNET (1942–1943)
32. Legion Staff Officer TISSEYRE (1943–1945)
33. Chief Warden HILAIRE (1945)
34. Colonial Administrator GIMBERT (1946)
35. Expeditionary Legion Captain HORNECKER (1946–1947)
36. Expeditionary Legion Captain BRUCE (1947–1948)
37. Expeditionary Legion Staff Officer LA FOSSE (1948–1951)
38. Expeditionary Legion Staff Officer JARTY (1951–1953)
39. Regular Army Staff Officer BLANCK (1953–1955)

14 Island Lords Under the U.S.–backed Saigon Regime

When the Americans took over, Côn Đảo continued to serve as a political prison. Using the strategy of “Vietnamese ruling over Vietnamese,” they appointed 14 notorious prison chiefs under the Saigon administration, while American advisors still held real power behind the scenes.

The list of prison governors during this period:

1. Major Bạch Văn Bốn (1955)
2. Administrative Officer Trần Văn Thiều (1955–1956)
3. Captain of the Security Forces Hồ Chí Thiền (1956–1957)
4. Major Bạch Văn Bốn (1957–1960)
5. Major Lê Văn Thể (1960–1963)
6. Major Nguyễn Văn Sáu (1963–1964)
7. Lieutenant Colonel Tăng Tư Tự Sao (1964–1965)
8. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Thế Tỵ (1965)
9. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Phát Đạt (1965)
10. Major Nguyễn Văn Vệ (1965–1971)
11. Lieutenant Colonel Cao Minh Tiết (1971–1972)
12. Lieutenant Colonel Đào Văn Phổ (1972–1973)
13. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Vệ (1973–1974)
14. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Hữu Phương (1975)

Additional Note (Japanese Occupation)

In 1945, during the Japanese occupation, Lê Văn Trà was appointed to manage Côn Đảo Prison until August 1945.

The End of the “Island Lord” Era

In April 1975, when southern Vietnam was completely liberated and the country reunified, Côn Đảo finally emerged from its long, terrifying past. The brutal prison system collapsed, and the dark chapter of the “Island Lords” officially came to an end.