'Hell On Earth': All About Brooklyn Jail Where Venezuelan Leader Nicolas Maduro Is Held
The operation to capture Maduro, labelled as 'Operation Absolute Resolve', was ordered by US President Donald Trump, following which strikes were carried out in Caracas city on Saturday.
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured by the United States forces in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, have now been placed at the infamous Brooklyn jail, the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC Brooklyn).
The jail has long been plagued by a troubled reputation, marked by violence, difficult living conditions, and the smuggling of drugs and contraband among its most common problems.
The operation to capture Maduro, labelled as 'Operation Absolute Resolve', was ordered by US President Donald Trump, following which strikes were carried out in Caracas city on Saturday.
Elite troops breached Fuerte Tiuna, the city’s fortified military complex and bombed buildings. Maduro and Flores were caught while fleeing a safe room and flown 3,400 km to New York City.
The couple was then flown on a government plane to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York and finally transported by helicopter to Manhattan, BBC reported.
Where Are Maduro And His Wife Now?
Following their capture, the couple has been taken to the notorious MDC Brooklyn, which has housed many high-profile individuals such as R. Kelly and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Opened in the early 1990s, the MDC Brooklyn, currently holds about 1,300 inmates. According to news agency AP, it is mainly used to house those awaiting trial in federal courts in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The prison houses alleged gangsters and drug traffickers alongside people accused of white-collar crimes. Maduro is not the first foreign leader to be held there.
Former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez was also imprisoned at MDC Brooklyn while on trial for trafficking cocaine into the US. He was convicted, sentenced to 45 years, but later pardoned by Trump in December 2025.
Other current detainees at MDC Brooklyn include Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel. Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, is also behind the bars.
Past inmates include crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried and Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
The jail, located near a waterfront mall and within sight of the Statue of Liberty, has been called “hell on earth,” according to AP. Detainees and lawyers have long complained about violence at the facility.
In 2024, two inmates were killed and the staff were charged with bribery or smuggling contraband. During a 2019 winter outage, prisoners also endured a week of freezing darkness. However, the Bureau of Prisons has noted that efforts have been made to improve the condition of the prison.
