After President Donald Trump announced that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been captured, attention has shifted to where the Latin American leader could be detained while he awaits trial in the United States.Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are currently in US custody and are being taken to New York, where they are expected to face criminal charges, a senior government source told NewsNation.US Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed after the capture that the couple has been indicted on narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and weapons-related charges.“Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil,” Trump said.With Trump indicating that Maduro will be taken to New York, officials say he could be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, the city’s only federal jail. The facility has previously held several high-profile detainees, including music executive Sean “Diddy” Combs.The Metropolitan Detention Center has a troubled reputation. Inmates have repeatedly complained about violence, harsh living conditions, staff shortages and the smuggling of drugs and other contraband. Some detainees have described the jail as “hell on earth”. Past inmates have included R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.Combs himself spent time at the Brooklyn facility before and during his trial. He is now serving a 50-month federal prison sentence after being convicted in October 2025 on two counts of transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution. He was acquitted of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges and is currently held at a federal prison in New Jersey.Maduro, his wife and close associates have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors allege that he led a long-running narco-terrorism conspiracy that used Venezuela’s state apparatus to funnel large quantities of cocaine into the US. The charges include narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of machineguns and destructive devices. Maduro’s son, Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, is also named in the indictment.
