Located in Brooklyn, it is the only active federal prison in the state of New York
Over time, however, the Metropolitan Detention Center gained notoriety for very different reasons. At present, its prison population fluctuates between 1,200 and 1,600 detainees, and the prison has become synonymous with extreme conditions, internal conflicts, and high-profile international inmates.
The arrival of Nicolás Maduro in New York marked the beginning of a new judicial stage after his capture. The former Venezuelan president arrived on United States soil amid a strict security operation and demonstrations by Venezuelans who celebrated the end of his government. Together with his wife, Cilia Flores, he was transferred with his eyes blindfolded and his hands handcuffed, after a journey that included a military ship, a helicopter, a plane, and a prison truck.
After the reading of charges, Maduro's destination was the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), the only active federal prison in the state of New York, located in the Brooklyn neighborhood, within the city's industrial belt and just meters from the waterfront promenade. He will remain housed there, at least provisionally, until his first court hearing.
The MDC was inaugurated in the early 1990s, after the construction of a new prison was promoted in 1988 to relieve overcrowding at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC), located in Manhattan. The original idea was for the facility to house newly arrested detainees who were awaiting trial in federal courts or who were serving short sentences. Its initial capacity was planned for about 1,000 inmates.
The complex has outdoor spaces for recreation, a medical unit with consulting rooms, a dental room, a library, and educational programs. Nevertheless, these facilities coexist with repeated complaints of internal violence, drug trafficking and smuggling, and a serious staff shortage, which currently stands at around 500 employees for the entire unit.
Relatives of detainees, former inmates, and human rights organizations have repeatedly denounced prolonged confinements, restrictions on receiving visits, limitations on telephone communications, and lack of regular access to showers and physical activities. Since 2021, at least four inmates have committed suicide inside the prison, which has raised alarms about the psychological situation of the inmates and the conditions of detention.
Episodes of violence are also part of MDC's recent history. In June 2024, a 37-year-old inmate died after being stabbed, and a month later another inmate was seriously injured during a fight. These events are compounded by criticism of the prison authorities' poor response to the building's structural problems and their handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
