A Jail With a Notable Roster
Opened in the early 1990s and located next to a shopping mall in a waterfront industrial area within sight of the Statue of Liberty, MDC Brooklyn currently houses about 1,300 inmates. It is the routine landing spot for people awaiting trial in federal courts in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The facility has housed prominent inmates before. Music stars R. Kelly and Sean “Diddy” Combs have both been held there, the AP reported. Current detainees include Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, identified as co-founder of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, and Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Past inmates have included crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried and Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein.
A Record of Violence and Neglect
Detainees and their lawyers have long described conditions at MDC Brooklyn in severe terms. The facility has been described, at its worst, as a “hell on earth” and an “ongoing tragedy,” according to the AP.
Two prisoners were killed by other inmates in 2024. Jail workers have been charged with accepting bribes or providing contraband. During the winter of 2019, a power outage left the facility and its inmates without heat or light for a week.
In March 2025, 23 inmates were charged with offenses ranging from smuggling weapons in a Doritos bag to the stabbing of a man convicted in the killing of hip-hop legend Jam Master Jay.
Bureau of Prisons Cites Improvements
The federal Bureau of Prisons says it has worked to address the facility’s problems. Officials said they have added correctional and medical staff, remedied more than 700 backlogged maintenance requests, and made improvements to electrical, plumbing, food service, and climate control systems.
The inmate population decreased from 1,580 as of January 2024 to about 1,300, which the Bureau of Prisons said led to a “substantial decrease” in crime and contraband.
“In short, MDC Brooklyn is safe for the inmates and staff,” the Bureau of Prisons said in September.
Familiar Faces From Venezuela
Maduro will initially be housed in isolated quarters, but if allowed contact with the general population, he may encounter familiar faces.
Hugo Carvajal, Venezuela’s former spy chief, is also detained at MDC Brooklyn, the AP reported. Carvajal broke ranks with Maduro in 2019 and has indicated that he wants to cooperate with U.S. authorities.
Also held there is Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, an alleged member of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang who was arrested in New York on firearms charges. Zambrano-Pacheco was among those caught on security video terrorizing residents at an apartment complex in a Denver suburb — an incident that Trump seized on during his 2024 presidential campaign.
MDC Brooklyn became New York City’s primary federal detention facility after the Bureau of Prisons closed the Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2021. The closure followed the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein at that facility, which had drawn scrutiny to lax security and deteriorating conditions there.