The ousted Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, now finds himself confined to a stark, 8-by-10-foot solitary cell in a Brooklyn jail, a reality described as 'disgusting' and a universe away from the opulent presidential palace he once commanded.
A World Away from Luxury
Maduro, who is accustomed to the fine furnishings and ballroom of the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, is being held in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) of Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC). Prison expert Larry Levine told the Daily Mail that the cell, barely larger than a walk-in closet, contains only a steel bed with a thin mattress, a pillow, and offers the prisoner a mere 3-by-5-foot space to move.
'He ran a whole country and now he's sitting in his cell, taking inventory of what he has left, which is a Bible, a towel and a legal pad,' Levine said. The lights are perpetually on, and with no window, inmates mark the passage of day only by meal deliveries or court appearances.
High-Profile Prison and Grave Risks
The MDC Brooklyn, now New York City's sole federal prison, has housed infamous inmates like Sean 'Diddy' Combs, R. Kelly, and Ghislaine Maxwell. Levine explained that Maduro's placement in solitary under constant surveillance is for his own protection. 'He's the grand prize right now and he's a national security issue,' Levine stated, warning that gang members inside would covet the 'folk hero' status of killing him for certain Venezuelan factions.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan federal court on Monday to serious narco-terrorism charges. Prosecutors allege he played a key role in trafficking cocaine into the US for over twenty years, partnering with groups like the Sinaloa Cartel.
'Hell on Earth' Conditions and a Long Wait
The detention centre itself has been labelled 'hell on Earth' by attorneys due to chronic issues including understaffing, violence, unsanitary conditions with brown water and mold, and a spate of suicides. Levine indicated Maduro could remain in near-total lockdown, 23 hours a day, for the duration of his trial, a far stricter regime than some other high-profile inmates.
'People have died in a lot of federal detention centers... It can be hell for some people,' Levine added. Meanwhile, his wife, Flores, who appeared in court with visible injuries from their arrest, is held in the women's unit of the same facility.
The stark contrast is heightened by reports on Maduro's own rule. A 2024 US State Department report detailed human rights violations in Venezuela, including arbitrary killings and political prisoners held incommunicado for years—a brutal legacy that now forms an ironic backdrop to his own incarceration.
