• Source:JND

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is being held at Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn, a high-security federal jail in New York that has long faced criticism over safety, infrastructure and inmate conditions.

A Jail With A Troubled Record

Located in a waterfront industrial area of Brooklyn, close to a shopping complex and within view of the Statue of Liberty, MDC Brooklyn is known for housing high-profile detainees awaiting trial in federal courts. The facility, which opened in the early 1990s, currently holds around 1,300 inmates, including alleged gang members, drug traffickers and white-collar crime accused.

Over the years, several judges have openly raised concerns about sending detainees to the jail, citing poor living conditions and safety issues.

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High-Profile Inmates Past And Present

The Brooklyn jail has previously housed well-known figures such as music stars R Kelly and Sean “Diddy” Combs, as well as former crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried and Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Jeffrey Epstein.

Among its former detainees was Juan Orlando Hernández, the ex-president of Honduras, who was tried there on drug trafficking charges before being sentenced and later pardoned by US President Donald Trump.

Current inmates include Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, a co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and Luigi Mangione, accused of killing a senior US healthcare executive.

Criticism, Deaths And Reforms

MDC Brooklyn has often been described by lawyers and detainees as unsafe. Two inmates were killed by fellow prisoners in 2024, while staff members have faced charges related to bribery and smuggling contraband. The jail also came under intense scrutiny after a power outage in 2019 left inmates without heat or light during winter.

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In response, the Federal Bureau of Prisons says conditions have improved. Officials claim staffing levels have increased, maintenance backlogs reduced and security tightened. The inmate population has also dropped, which authorities say has helped reduce violence.

Maduro’s Detention Draws Attention

Outside the jail, Venezuelan expatriates gathered to react to Maduro’s detention, while officials confirmed he would initially be kept in isolated quarters.

The MDC has remained under close watch since the closure of New York’s other federal jail following Epstein’s death, keeping its reputation as one of the most scrutinised detention centres in the US.

(With Inputs From AP)


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