‘Dirty’ and ‘Infested* with Drugs’: The New York Jail Holding Maduro and Mangione

THE GUARDIAN: High-profile names have been housed in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan detention center, which is said to be unsafe and inhumane

After US military forces seized Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas during a controversial pre-dawn raid, they were ultimately spirited to one of this country’s most infamous jails: the Metropolitan detention center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York.

The deposed Venezuelan president and Flores will almost certainly reside in the MDC until their federal trial on drugs and weapons charge – inducting them into a notorious group that counts Sean “Diddy” Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell, Sam Bankman-Fried and Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” as either current or former members.

The facility, located in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, holds prisoners with pending cases in the United States district court for the eastern district of New York as well as those serving brief sentences. » | Victoria Bekiempis | Wednesday, January 7, 2026

FOR CLARITY, A NOTE TO NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH: The choice of the word “infested’ in connection with drugs is very unusual. The word ‘infested’ is more correctly used in connection with insects, pests, or vermin, etc. I would have probably used the word ‘saturated’. — Mark

Maduro Tells U.S. Judge He Was ‘Kidnapped’

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Nicolás Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan leader, and his wife pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other federal charges. “I am still president of my country,” Maduro said.

Nicolás Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan leader, insisted on Monday that he was still his country’s president and had been “kidnapped” in the U.S. military raid on Caracas that captured him and his wife two days ago. Both pleaded not guilty to charges, including drug trafficking and other crimes, in a federal courtroom in Lower Manhattan.

“I’m innocent. I’m not guilty,” Mr. Maduro said through an interpreter after Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein asked him for his plea. He continued, “I am a decent man. I am still president of my country.”

Mr. Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, who like her husband wore a short-sleeve navy shirt over an orange prison uniform, had a bandage on her forehead and what looked to be bruising near her right eye. She told the court that she was “not guilty, completely innocent.”

At the conclusion of the hearing, a man stood up in the gallery and told Mr. Maduro in Spanish that he would pay for his crimes. Mr. Maduro responded that he would win his freedom and declared himself “a prisoner of war.”

Their arraignment, on charges including narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine, followed a monthslong campaign by the Trump administration to drive Mr. Maduro from power. But it could be well over a year before he and his wife face trial, and Mr. Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, told the judge there were questions about the legality of his client’s “military abduction.” Venezuela Live Updates » | Benjamin Weiser, Jonah E. Bromwich, Annie Karni and Hurubie Meko | Benjamin Weiser, Jonah E. Bromwich and Hurubie Meko reported from Lower Manhattan. Annie Karni reported from Washington. | Monday, January 5, 2026

En español:

En vivo: Maduro dice ante un tribunal de EE. UU. que fue ‘secuestrado’: Nicolás Maduro, el líder derrocado de Venezuela, y su esposa se declararon no culpables de narcotráfico y otros cargos federales. El hijo de Maduro, quien también está en la acusación, pronunció un discurso desafiante el lunes ante la Asamblea Nacional venezolana. »

Qui est Cilia Flores, première dame vénézuélienne capturée avec son époux par les États-Unis ?

MADAME FIGARO : Figure centrale et souvent controversée de la politique vénézuélienne, Cilia Flores a été capturée et exfiltrée de son pays lors d’un raid américain, ce samedi 3 janvier. Véritable soutien pour son époux, elle est, comme il aime l’appeler, la «première combattante».

Vers 2 heures du matin, samedi 3 janvier, les habitants de Caracas ont retenu leur souffle en entendant de fortes explosions retentir dans la capitale vénézuélienne. Quelques heures plus tard, CBS et Fox News confirmaient l’implication des États-Unis dans ces frappes, puis Donald Trump déclarait sur son réseau social, Truth Social, la capture du président vénézuélien, Nicolás Maduro, et de son épouse, Cilia Flores.

Le couple présidentiel a été inculpé à New York et est accusé de «complot narcoterroriste, de complot d’importation de cocaïne, de possession d’armes automatiques et d’engins explosifs, et de complot en vue d’utiliser des armes automatiques et des engins explosifs contre les États-Unis», a indiqué la ministre de la justice américaine, Pamela Bondi. Des accusations qui pourraient découler, entre autres, de l’implication de deux des neveux de Cilia Flores dans un réseau de trafic de drogue, arrêtés en 2015 et condamnés à 18 ans de prison, rapportent CNN Venezuela . » | Par Leonie Dutrievoz | lundi 5 janvier 2026

Maduro and His Wife Arrive at Manhattan Courthouse for First Appearance

Jan 5, 2026 | An armored vehicle carrying ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores has just arrived at a New York courthouse, where Maduro is set to appear later on today on drugs and weapons charges.