Overview
- Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty on Jan. 5 to U.S. drug and weapons charges and remain confined at MDC Brooklyn with a next court date set for March 17.
- Tekashi 6ix9ine reported to the facility on Jan. 6 to serve a three-month sentence for violating supervised release and publicly joked about meeting Maduro and fellow detainee Luigi Mangione.
- MDC Brooklyn has long drawn complaints over overcrowding, violence and poor conditions, including a 2019 winter power outage and two inmate killings in 2024 highlighted by Justice Department filings.
- The Bureau of Prisons says it has increased staffing and cleared more than 700 maintenance requests after scrutiny, describing an ongoing effort to address the jail’s infrastructure and care gaps.
- The jail regularly houses prominent defendants; Luigi Mangione remains held in the UnitedHealthcare CEO killing case, and recent or prior detainees include Sean “Diddy” Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell and Juan Orlando Hernández.