Where Is Venezuelan Leader Maduro? - All About Brooklyn's Notorious Jail Which Also Housed Sean 'Diddy' Combs

(MENAFN- Live Mint) In a dramatic escalation on Saturday, 3 January, the United States carried out a military strike on Venezuela, setting off a chain of events that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Maduro was taken into custody and later flown to New York, according to multiple reports.

The Venezuelan President and the First Lady are now expected to face court proceedings as early as Monday on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons offenses.

Maduro is currently being held at the Brooklyn jail, which is criticised for its conditions. The facility is reportedly so troubled that some judges have refused to send people there, even as it has housed high-profile inmates such as R. Kelly and Sean“Diddy” Combs, AP reported.

Which famous people are locked in the Brooklyn prison?

The prison, known as the Metropolitan Detention Center, or MDC Brooklyn, opened in the early 1990s and currently houses around 1,300 inmates, including alleged gangsters, drug traffickers, as well as some people accused of white collar crimes.

The facility is claimed to be a routine landing spot for people awaiting trial in federal courts in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Among those currently held at the jail are Ismael“El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, the co-founder of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel, and Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.

Previous inmates have included crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried and Ghislaine Maxwell, a close and longtime associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Maduro is not the first president of a country to be held at the jail. Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, was also locked up at MDC Brooklyn while facing a trial for smuggling massive quantities of cocaine into the United States. He was later convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison, but was pardoned and released by Donald Trump in December last year.

Why is the prison considered 'troubled'?

The jail, which sits within the view of the Statue of Liberty, has been described, at its worst, as a“hell on earth” and an“ongoing tragedy.”

Detainees and their lawyers have consistently complained about extreme violence within the premises. In 2024, two prisoners were killed by other inmates. There are also reports of jail workers being charged with accepting bribes or providing contraband, AP reported.

During the winter of 2019, a power failure left the facility and its inmates without light for nearly a week, forcing them to ensure complete darkness and cold, the news report stated.

Jeffrey Epstein's suicide adds to the negative image of the place

While at the jail, Maduro is likely to encounter some familiar faces, which may include other high-profile inmates, but that can happen only if he is allowed out of the isolated quarters where he will initially be housed. These sections are designed to keep new or high-risk detainees separate from the general population, at least at the start of their stay.

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The Brooklyn jail has come under greater scrutiny since 2021, after the Bureau of Prisons shut down its other New York City jail - the Metropolitan Correctional Center - following Jeffrey Epstein's suicide. That incident exposed serious problems, including its weak security, crumbling infrastructure and unsafe, filthy conditions.

Jeffrey Epstein became was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges, and while in jail awaiting trial, he died by suicide, which sparked widespread controversy and scrutiny over jail conditions and oversight.
(with agency inputs)

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