Maduro and his wife are placed in federal Brooklyn prison in New York
Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, have become the latest high-profile figures to be held at the federal prison in Brooklyn — a facility that has often been criticized for its dilapidated structure, poor health care, widespread violence, and lack of supervision.
After Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges, a federal judge in New York ordered them to remain in the prison until further notice.
Federal Penitentiary in Brooklyn become the place to hold the detained Venezuelan president and his wife, as it can accommodate about 1,600 prisoners.
It’s the only facility in New York dedicated to those detained pending federal trials.
He has previously hosted high-profile figures such as American hip-hop star Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jeffrey Epstein’s partner Gillian Maxwell, and former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is accused of drug trafficking.
The prison has witnessed several high-profile incidents, including a power outage in the winter of 2019 and a stabbing incident that killed two prisoners in 2024. Authorities have also recently begun using it to detain irregular migrants as part of US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Daniel Lambright, special counsel for the New York Civil Liberties Union, called the prison a “secret and inhumane catastrophe,” citing food corruption, uncontrolled violence, and a lack of medical care, and stressing that no one should have to endure such conditions.
It’s worth noting that the trial of Maduro and his wife has been scheduled for next March.
The indictment is linked to the US indictment, which came in 25 pages.
