05.01.2026 22:40
The Metropolitan Detention Center in New York, where Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores made a stop, is known as the "waiting room for high-profile cases" due to the notable names it has hosted. The facility's list of detainees includes many famous individuals, from drug lord El Chapo to sex offender R. Kelly, cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada to controversial producer Sean "Diddy" Combs.
The new address of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC Brooklyn) in New York, is known as the "waiting room for high-profile cases" due to the names it hosts, ranging from drug lords to global stars.
Many striking figures, from drug lord El Chapo to sex offender R. Kelly, from cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada to controversial producer Sean "Diddy" Combs, have awaited their day in court behind the same walls as Maduro.
MDC BROOKLYN'S "CRIMINAL" ARCHIVE
While Maduro and his wife are held separately in special cells isolated from other inmates for security reasons, heavily armed law enforcement patrols outside.
This center, which is the mandatory residence of the couple, is known for hosting many names that have entered U.S. legal history. Some of those who have passed through or are still here include:
Drug lords: Legendary Mexican baron Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia, one of the founders of the Sinaloa cartel.
Names from the music world: R. Kelly, convicted of sexual offenses, and Sean "Diddy" Combs, the defendant in one of the most controversial cases of recent times.
Defendants in critical cases: Ghislaine Maxwell from the Epstein case and, most recently, Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.
OPEN SINCE 1994
This facility, which has been the center of federal cases in New York since 1994, is used as the most secure stop for detainees of international security concern, like the Maduro couple. Despite the notorious conditions of the facility, the main reason for bringing such critical names here is the high layers of security that make escape seem impossible.
CELLS SEPARATE, SECURITY MAXIMUM
Maduro and Flores have no contact with these individuals. The Federal Bureau of Prisons keeps each high-profile detainee in independent blocks, completely isolated from the outside world.