To many gathered outside the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, the moment of Nicolás Maduro’s arraignment feels historic.
Flags waved as the Venezuelan national anthem echoed throughout the neighboring courtyard.
What You Need To Know
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro now awaits the next steps in his case inside the facility, a jail long criticized for violence, staffing shortages and deteriorating conditions
The detention center has housed several high-profile inmates in recent years, including Luigi Mangione, Sean “Diddy” Comb and former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez
The facility has also been the subject of repeated federal investigations and lawsuits over safety and medical care
“This is a victory for the people of Venezuela,” Venezuelan immigrant Franklin Gomez said.
For those who fled the country, many say Maduro never won power legitimately, accusing him of rigging elections and extending a socialist regime controlling Venezuela for more than 26 years.
But not everyone shares that view. Just feet away, another group called the case political and the arrest illegitimate.
“The U.S. does not have the interests of the Venezuelan people in mind. It just wants the oil,” Ebtesham Ahamad said.
Across the Brooklyn Bridge, outside the Metropolitan Detention Center where Maduro and his wife are now in custody, the emotion continues.
Maduro now awaits the next steps in his case inside the facility, a jail long criticized for violence, staffing shortages and deteriorating conditions.
Even in the bitter cold, Beatriz Garcia says she came to stand with Venezuelan families.
“I’m supporting my Venezuelan brothers and sisters for the freedom that they were given on January 3rd,” Garcia said through an interpreter.
That freedom stands in stark contrast to where Maduro is being held.
The detention center has housed several high-profile inmates in recent years, including Luigi Mangione, Sean “Diddy” Comb and former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez.
The facility has also been the subject of repeated federal investigations and lawsuits over safety and medical care.