NEW YORK (RTWNews) — The Brooklyn jail holding Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is a facility so troubled, some judges have refused to send people there even as it has housed such famous inmates as music stars R. Kelly and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Brooklyn, opened in the early 1990s, currently houses approximately 1,300 inmates, including alleged gangsters and drug traffickers as they await trial in federal courts.
A large gathering of Venezuelan expatriates draped in flags celebrated Maduro’s arrival at the jail. They cheered as the law enforcement motorcade carrying the deposed leader and his wife entered the facility.
Maduro's imprisonment follows a legacy of detained political leaders, including former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of drug trafficking and ultimately pardoned by Donald Trump.
The MDC has previously accommodated high-profile detainees such as Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, and alleged murderer Luigi Mangione. Other notorious past inmates include crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried and associate of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Located near key landmarks and subject to numerous allegations of violence and poor conditions, the facility has made headlines for its “hell on earth” reputation. Recent incidents of inmate violence, including fatalities, prompted calls for improvements, which the Bureau of Prisons claims to be addressing through staff enhancements and maintenance upgrades.
Amidst these improvements, new arrivals like Maduro may encounter familiar faces including Hugo Carvajal, the former Venezuelan spy chief, and Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, an alleged gang member.
With ongoing monitoring of conditions at the MDC since prior scandals, including the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, authorities are under pressure to rectify the facility's reputation while ensuring the safety of its current and future inmates.
