MDC Brooklyn, the notorious prison housing Maduro and his wife
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Recent detainees include another former Latin American president charged with drug trafficking: Mr Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras, who recently received a pardon from US President Donald Trump.
PHOTO: EPA
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NEW YORK - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are the latest high-profile inmates held in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), the largest federal pre-trial holding facility in the US.
After the pair pleaded not guilty on Jan 5
With the capacity for 1,600 inmates, MDC Brooklyn is the only prison in New York City designated to hold suspects facing federal trial.
Recent detainees include disgraced rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs received a pardon from US President Donald Trump.
The heavily used MDC Brooklyn has faced accusations of mismanagement and is regularly criticised for its ageing facilities and consistent issues with administering healthcare for those held inside.
The jail has been plagued by a series of high-profile incidents, including a devastating power outage in the middle of a freezing winter in 2019 and the stabbing deaths of two inmates in 2024.
Recently, it has begun holding migrants suspected of being in the country illegally as part of Mr Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown.
Mr Daniel Lambright, special counsel for the New York Civil Liberties Union, described the facility as having spoiled food, unchecked violence and a lack of medical care for inmates.
“MDC Brooklyn is a secretive, inhumane disaster that should have no place in immigration enforcement,” Mr Lambright said, adding that “no one should endure such abuse”. AFP
