What We Know About Maduro’s Detention Facility

Since the Trump administration’s arrest and detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which some experts have argued were unlawful, little has been said about the facility where he is being held: Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC).

American Oversight has previously released records documenting troubling conditions at MDC. Additionally, the facility has also more recently been implicated in a separate effort by the administration to restrict congressional oversight of federal detention facilities.

Together, these developments raise broader questions about detainee welfare, transparency, and accountability at a facility with a documented history of operational failures.

What Records Show About MDC

In 2021, we obtained and released records shedding light on serious conditions at MDC during a January–February 2019 power outage that occurred in the first Trump administration. Those records documented:

• Extended loss of heat and electricity: Detainees were left for days without reliable heat during winter conditions, as well as without consistent lighting or power.

• Breakdowns in basic living conditions: Internal communications described non-functioning toilets, limited access to running water, and disruptions to food service.

• Medical and safety concerns: Records reflected concern among officials about unmet medical needs and the facility’s inability to safely operate under emergency conditions.

• Delayed and inadequate government response: Emails and internal documents showed deficient care and inconsistent internal coordination by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

• Discrepancies between public statements and internal records: While officials publicly downplayed the severity of conditions, internal records painted a far more troubling picture of risks to detainees.

We published these findings after we sued to secure the records through the Freedom of Information Act.

Congressional Access to MDC

MDC is also one of the federal detention facilities affected by the Trump administration’s more recent attempts to restrict congressional oversight visits.

In 2025, the administration advanced a policy asserting that members of Congress must provide advance notice before visiting federal detention facilities operated by or for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); the BOP is one of the agencies which operates facilities for ICE. This policy sought to override existing law and practice allowing unannounced congressional inspections. As a BOP facility housing immigrant detainees for ICE, MDC fell within the scope of this attempted restriction.

We represent members of Congress who challenged the administration’s policy in court. Last month, a federal judge temporarily blocked the notice requirement, restoring Congress’s ability to conduct unannounced inspections while litigation continues. The ruling reinforced that detention oversight is a legal obligation — not a matter of executive discretion.