Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is set to be transferred from his life of luxury to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in New York City.
Described as “disgusting” with “horrifying” conditions, the MDC is known for its squalid conditions, chronic understaffing, inmate violence and power outages.
Built in the 1990s to combat prison overcrowding, the facility has housed people including singer R. Kelly, “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, one-time cryptocurrency whiz kid Sam Bankman-Fried and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. Suspected cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia was also held there as he awaited trial on murder and drug trafficking charges.
“It’s a very difficult place to be an inmate,” Combs’ attorney Marc Agnifilo argued in court in late 2024, telling the judge it would be difficult for his client to get ready for trial if he were to be housed there.
Violence can be a constant threat. One inmate was fatally stabbed in June 2024 and another died in a fight a month later.
A 2019 power outage plunged prisoners into near-total darkness in frigid temperatures for a week. The incident prompted a Justice Department investigation that resulted in a $10 million settlement for 1,600 affected inmates. Inmates had been confined to their cells for days and forced to endure unsanitary conditions with malfunctioning toilets, according to the lawsuit filed on their behalf.
The MDC is the only federal correction center serving New York City following the closure of Manhattan’s complex after multimillionaire financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s death by suicide in 2019.