University of Quito in 1586. Augustinians also entered Argentina via Chile between 1617 and 1626. Political events in these countries prevented the order from prospering and hindered the success of its undertakings. The order had considerable property confiscated by the Argentinian government under the secularisation laws in the 19th century, and were entirely suppressed for 24 years until 1901 when they returned. In the Prefecture Apostolic of San León de Amazonas, in June, 1904, Bernardo Calle, the lay brother Miguel Vilajoli, and more than 70 Christians were murdered at a then recently erected mission station, Huabico, in Upper Maranon and the station itself was destroyed. The Augustinian Province of the Netherlands later also founded houses in Bolivia from 1930. Cuba The order (from Mexico) arrived in Cuba in 1608. It was suppressed by force in 1842. From 1892 the province of the United States had care of St. Augustine's College at Havana, Cuba, where there were 5 priests and 3 lay brothers in 1900 before they were expelled in 1961 by the government of Fidel Castro. In the year 2000 in Central and South America, the Augustinians remain established in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela as well three Peruvian Vicariates of Iquitos, Apurímac and Chulucanas, and the Province of Peru. There are currently 814 friars in Latin America. China Martin de Hereda penetrated into the interior of China in 1577, to study Chinese literature with the intention of bringing it into Europe. Portuguese Augustinians served in the colonial port of Macau from 1586 until 1712. In about 1681, the Filipino Augustinian Alvaro de Benevente arrived in China and established the first of the Augustinian houses in China at Kan-chou. Benevente was made bishop and became head of the newly created Vicariate of Kiang-si in 1699. The Augustinian missionaries had success in propagating Catholicism, but in 1708, during the Chinese Rites controversy they were forced to withdraw from China. In 1879 Spanish Augustinians from Manila (Elias Suarez and Agostino Villanueva) entered China to re-establish an Augustinian mission. In 1900 the order possessed the mission of Northern Hu-nan, China. The mission comprised about 3000 baptized Christians and 3500 catechumens in a population of 11 million. By 1947 the Augustinian mission counted 24,332 baptised Catholics as well as 3,250 preparing for baptism. They had established 20 major churches and 90 satellite churches. All foreign missionaries were expelled or