Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is being held in a U.S. federal jail long criticised for violence, deaths and systemic failures, following his capture by American forces and transfer to New York to face sweeping criminal charges.
Maduro, 63, is detained at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, according to court records, after being arrested in early January and flown to the United States with his wife, Cilia Flores. The move has intensified diplomatic fallout between Washington and Caracas while placing the former president inside one of the most notorious facilities in the federal prison system.
Maduro made his first appearance in Manhattan federal court on Jan. 5 before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Appearing in shackles and speaking through an interpreter, he challenged the legitimacy of the proceedings, telling the court: "I am still the president of my country."
He described the circumstances of his arrest, saying, "I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela," before adding, "I'm innocent. I'm not guilty. I'm a decent man, the president of my country," according to reporting by The Star.
Prosecutors have charged Maduro with narco-terrorism conspiracy, drug trafficking and weapons offences, alleging he facilitated cocaine shipments through Venezuela while in office. Following the hearing, he was returned to MDC Brooklyn, where he is being held pending his next court date on March 17.
The detention centre, New York City's only federal jail, has drawn repeated condemnation from judges, attorneys and former inmates. In a January 2024 ruling, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman wrote that "it has gotten to the point that it is routine" for judges to reduce sentences because of conditions at MDC.
The facility has held a long list of high-profile defendants. Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs was detained there before his case proceeded, with his lawyers arguing the jail was "not fit for pre-trial detention." Singer R. Kelly was housed at MDC prior to his federal sex-trafficking conviction. Other former detainees include Ghislaine Maxwell, Sam Bankman-Fried, Michael Cohen, Martin Shkreli and Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.
Recent occupants have also included Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia of the Sinaloa cartel. Hugo Carvajal, a former Venezuelan intelligence chief who later broke with Maduro, is also being held at the facility.
Conditions inside MDC have been the subject of repeated investigations. Since 2020, at least 17 inmates have died in custody, according to court filings and public records.
- Two prisoners were killed by other inmates in 2024
- Multiple stabbings have been reported
- Extended lockdowns have limited movement and access to counsel
Former detainee Sean Chaney said of the jail, "This is the type of stuff that goes on in MDC, because of the just inhumane conditions."
The centre drew national attention in January 2019 after a week-long power outage left inmates without heat or electricity during freezing weather. Following that incident, New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes said, "MDC is notorious for dangerous and inhumane conditions that have resulted in multiple inmate deaths."
Attorneys representing detainees continue to warn about safety risks. Dan McGuinness, a lawyer who has represented MDC inmates, described the facility as "an absolute tinderbox of an environment."
