Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is being held in a United States federal prison branded "hell on earth" by inmates and officials, following his dramatic capture by forces loyal to former US President Donald Trump.
The leader, who faces drug trafficking charges, is detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York. The nine-story facility has a notorious reputation for rampant violence, severe overcrowding, and barbaric living conditions, as documented by inmates, lawyers, and federal judges.
A 'Lawless' Environment of Violence and Gang Warfare
The MDC is frequently described as dangerously understaffed and poorly supervised. Former inmates and legal representatives speak of a vicious cycle of violence, where guards are often absent from units, leaving prisoners vulnerable.
In 2024 alone, two inmates were killed and many more injured in violent brawls. A particularly brutal incident in February of that year saw a massive gang fight result in one prisoner being stabbed 18 times in the back, while nine others suffered stab or slash wounds.
Judges have condemned the "environment of lawlessness" where gangs operate openly. Inmates reportedly feel compelled to align with these violent groups simply to gain protection from attacks.
'Barbaric' Living Conditions and Chronic Overcrowding
Designed for roughly 1,000 detainees, the Brooklyn prison routinely holds between 1,200 and 1,600, creating what has been called a catastrophic overcrowding crisis. This exacerbates the dire state of the infrastructure.
Inmates have reported a litany of ongoing problems:
- Broken toilets and backups of raw sewage filtering into cells.
- Brown water coming from taps and mould-infested showers.
- Maggots found in prison food and cockroach infestations.
In a formal complaint, former inmate Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted for sex trafficking, detailed sharing her cell with rodents and enduring the persistent smell of sewage.
Punishing Lockdowns and 'Nonexistent' Medical Care
To manage chronic staff shortages and violence, prison authorities frequently impose facility-wide lockdowns. These can last for days or weeks, during which inmates are confined to cells without access to showers, phone calls, legal visits, or exercise.
This practice is described as a form of de facto solitary confinement, a punishment usually reserved for individuals, which adds to the psychological strain and cycle of violence.
Medical care at the MDC has been slammed as virtually nonexistent. At times, only one or two doctors are available for over 1,200 inmates. There are reports of inmates suffering seizures or heart attacks being ignored because emergency call buttons in cells were broken.
Lawyers have also cited cases where cancer diagnoses were botched or fatally delayed due to the inadequate system.
Maduro's detention in such a facility, following his seizure and court appearance where he declared "I am not guilty, I am the president", marks a highly controversial chapter in US-Venezuela relations and highlights ongoing scrutiny of the American penal system.
