All about the Brooklyn jail where Venezuela’s ousted president is imprisoned Image:Republic
New York: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was arrested by the US military on Saturday on charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, often referred to as the “pit of hell”.
The prison has previously housed many high-profile people and is notorious for its poor living conditions.
Why is Brooklyn Jail called the ‘Pit of Hell’?
Brooklyn Jail has gained a negative reputation over the years. According to UK media, lawyers have claimed that an inmate was murdered inside the prison last summer. He also said that in the last three years, at least four prisoners have committed suicide.
In 2024, a 37-year-old inmate named Uriel White, who had been awaiting trial on gun charges for two years, was stabbed to death inside the prison.
Apart from murders and knife attacks, this prison is also infamous for its terrible living conditions. According to reports, maggots were once found in beans served to prisoners. There were also reports of cockroaches in food and mold in showers. There were also reports of rat terror in the jail.
Which high-profile prisoners were held in Brooklyn Jail?
A number of celebrities and controversial figures have previously been held in Brooklyn Jail:
1. Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
The American rapper, who was accused of sexual assault, was jailed in the MDC for more than a year.
2. Ghislaine Maxwell
The former British socialite and convicted sex offender, who groomed underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein and high-profile clients, was also an inmate of this prison. His brother had told in an interview that there was no natural light in the 6 by 9 feet space where Maxwell was kept. He also said that the water he was given was “brown” in color and he was served “unfit” food.
3. Sam Bankman-Fried
The American entrepreneur and founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges, has been jailed in Brooklyn until March 2025. Now he has been transferred to a jail in Los Angeles. During his stay at MDC, the entrepreneur was kept in the same cell that previously housed Diddy.
4. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman
This notorious Mexican drug lord, who was the top leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, was also kept in the same prison before being sentenced to life imprisonment.
How did America catch Maduro?
On the morning of January 3, the United States launched a major military operation against Venezuela. During the attack, US Army soldiers reportedly entered the bedroom of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores at the heavily guarded Fort Tuna military complex, dragged them out of their bed and deported them from the country.
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