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Maduro Held at Brooklyn’s Troubled Metropolitan Detention Center Before New York Prosecution

A 2024 federal court ruling labeled the jail’s conditions “dangerous, barbaric,” drawing fresh scrutiny as it takes in the deposed Venezuelan leader.

Overview

  • After his capture, Nicolás Maduro was moved overnight into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, confirming his pretrial placement in New York.
  • The facility primarily holds detainees awaiting federal proceedings and houses roughly 1,300 men and women, with a history of high‑profile inmates including Sam Bankman‑Fried, Sean “Diddy” Combs, R. Kelly and Ghislaine Maxwell.
  • In a 2024 finding, a federal court cited violence, inadequate medical care, poor oversight and prolonged cell confinement at the MDC, with the jail also described as severely understaffed.
  • Recent reports describe severe hygiene failures, including food containing maggots, and accounts of staff violence such as a mentally ill inmate dying after being pepper‑sprayed and restrained, according to Axios.
  • U.S. authorities say Maduro will soon face prosecution in New York, indicating his detention at the MDC is a pretrial measure tied to the forthcoming federal case.