'Hell on Earth': The famous prisoners who have passed through the New York jail where Nicolás Maduro is held

The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York City, came under the international spotlight again after Nicolás Maduro was captured by the United States and accused of links to drug trafficking. This is not just any prison; it is the most feared federal prison in the city and the place where some of the most notorious detainees in crime, politics and global show business have been held.

Described by its own inmates as "hell on Earth," the MDC was designed to house high-risk detainees, under strict regimes of solitary confinement, constant surveillance and extreme conditions. There, the Venezuelan dictator remains while his case is advancing in the Federal Court of New York, where he is already he pleaded "not guilty" and claimed he is "still president" of Venezuela. His wife, Cilia Flores, also pleaded not guilty.

A prison with a dark history

Located just yards from New York Harbor, the MDC is a mass of concrete and steel inaugurated in the early 1990s to relieve prison overcrowding. Following the closure of the Manhattan Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2021 after the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, it became the only operational federal prison in the city, concentrating the cases with the highest public impact.

Built to house about 1,000 people, it eventually surpassed 1,600 inmates in 2019. It currently houses more than 1,300 inmates, with just 55% of the necessary staff, according to court documents. The combination of overcrowding, lack of guards and structural flaws explains its bad reputation: frequent fights, aggression, prolonged lockdowns, tiny cells and serious sanitary deficiencies.

One of the most critical episodes occurred in the winter of 2019, when a power outage left inmates for several days without electricity or heating, amid sub-zero temperatures. The images of inmates banging on the windows asking for help went around the world and resulted in class action lawsuits and millions of dollars in compensation.

VIP prisoners: From drug trafficking to show biz

The impact of their legal cases has been epoch-making. Among the most prominent names is Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, who was housed there under near-total solitary confinement before being transferred to a maximum-security prison.

There was also Ghislaine Maxwell, former partner of Jeffrey Epstein, sentenced to 20 years for sexual exploitation of minors. During her stay, she claimed there were "inhuman, cruel and degrading" conditions, comparing her cell to that of movie character Hannibal Lecter.

The entertainment world was not left out either. Rapper and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs was held at the MDC during his sex trafficking and abuse case, under strict surveillance, before being transferred to another prison. His arrest shook the American music industry.

Politicians, businessmen and global criminals

Maduro is not the first Latin American leader to pass through the MDC. Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández stayed there for more than three years before being convicted of drug trafficking, a sentence that was later pardoned by Donald Trump.

Other names on the list include former Mexico Security Secretary Genaro García Luna, who reported witnessing homicides inside the prison; historic drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada; Rafael Caro Quintero, founder of the Guadalajara Cartel; and members of Al Qaeda arrested after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Also passing through were notorious businessmen and fraudsters such as Sam Bankman-Fried, convicted of multi-million dollar cryptocurrency fraud; Martin Shkreli, the "Pharma Bro"; NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere; and Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui, linked to Steve Bannon's entourage.

Among the current detainees is Luigi Mangione, accused of the murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, a case that shocked the U.S. corporate and healthcare system.