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Tag: metropolitan detention center

  • Venezuelan leader Maduro to face judge in first US court hearing Monday

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    A poster of a captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on display during a press conference in Doral, Florida on Saturday, January 3, 2026. United States Repsresentatives Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar held a joint press conference in Doral, Florida, to discuss the U.S. attack on Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, January 3, 2026.

    A poster of a captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on display during a press conference in Doral, Florida on Saturday, January 3, 2026. United States Repsresentatives Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar held a joint press conference in Doral, Florida, to discuss the U.S. attack on Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, January 3, 2026.


    PHOTO BY AL DIAZ

    adiaz@miamiherald.com

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    Strike on Venezuela

    What to know about the U.S. military action in Venezuela and the removal of leader Nicolas Maduro.

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    Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was ousted from office and removed from the country over the weekend, is expected to make his first appearance in front of a U.S. federal judge Monday, according to a courts’ spokesperson.

    Maduro is at the forefront of corruption in Venezuela and partnered with others to “use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States,” according to a superseding federal indictment made public Saturday.

    He was captured by U.S. armed forces in an overnight raid and brought to America to face four criminal charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, according to his indictment.

    Maduro is scheduled for a noon hearing Monday in front of a New York City District Court judge, a federal court spokesperson said.

    According to officials, he is not the only political leader who abused a position of power for years.

    Maduro was indicted alongside several Venezuelan politicians including his wife and de facto First Lady of Venezuela, Cilia Flores, and his son, Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, the indictment said.

    Venezuela has western access to the mountainous regions of Columbia, where coca is grown and turned into the majority of the world’s cocaine supply, the indictment said. Officials, including Maduro, partnered with drug traffickers and “narco-terrorist groups” to transport that cocaine to the United States.

    “By in or about 2020, the State Department estimated that between 200 and 250 tons of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela annually,” the indictment said.

    Venezuelan officials are accused of various illegal acts to further drug trafficking such as selling Venezuelan diplomatic passports to known drug traffickers, accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and using diplomatic covers for certain air travel to receive no scrutiny from law enforcement.

    Maduro is being held at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, according to the Associated Press, which has housed many high-profile inmates from Sean “Diddy” Combs to Luigi Mangione.

    Miami Herald reporter Claire Heddles contributed to this report.

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    Sofia Saric

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  • Venezuelan leader Maduro to face judge in first US court hearing Monday

    [ad_1]

    A poster of a captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on display during a press conference in Doral, Florida on Saturday, January 3, 2026. United States Repsresentatives Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar held a joint press conference in Doral, Florida, to discuss the U.S. attack on Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, January 3, 2026.

    A poster of a captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on display during a press conference in Doral, Florida on Saturday, January 3, 2026. United States Repsresentatives Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar held a joint press conference in Doral, Florida, to discuss the U.S. attack on Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, January 3, 2026.


    PHOTO BY AL DIAZ

    adiaz@miamiherald.com

    READ MORE

    Strike on Venezuela

    What to know about the U.S. military action in Venezuela and the removal of leader Nicolas Maduro.

    Expand All

    Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was ousted from office and removed from the country over the weekend, is expected to make his first appearance in front of a U.S. federal judge Monday, according to a courts’ spokesperson.

    Maduro is at the forefront of corruption in Venezuela and partnered with others to “use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States,” according to a superseding federal indictment made public Saturday.

    He was captured by U.S. armed forces in an overnight raid and brought to America to face four criminal charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices, according to his indictment.

    Maduro is scheduled for a noon hearing Monday in front of a New York City District Court judge, a federal court spokesperson said.

    According to officials, he is not the only political leader who abused a position of power for years.

    Maduro was indicted alongside several Venezuelan politicians including his wife and de facto First Lady of Venezuela, Cilia Flores, and his son, Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, the indictment said.

    Venezuela has western access to the mountainous regions of Columbia, where coca is grown and turned into the majority of the world’s cocaine supply, the indictment said. Officials, including Maduro, partnered with drug traffickers and “narco-terrorist groups” to transport that cocaine to the United States.

    “By in or about 2020, the State Department estimated that between 200 and 250 tons of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela annually,” the indictment said.

    Venezuelan officials are accused of various illegal acts to further drug trafficking such as selling Venezuelan diplomatic passports to known drug traffickers, accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and using diplomatic covers for certain air travel to receive no scrutiny from law enforcement.

    Maduro is being held at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, according to the Associated Press, which has housed many high-profile inmates from Sean “Diddy” Combs to Luigi Mangione.

    Miami Herald reporter Claire Heddles contributed to this report.

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    Sofia Saric

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  • Police declare ‘unlawful assembly’ at downtown L.A. protest, use tear gas to disperse crowds

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    Police on Saturday evening declared an unlawful assembly and issued a dispersal order for a small portion of downtown Los Angeles next to the Metropolitan Detention Center where demonstrators from “No Kings Day” protests had converged.

    Tense standoffs took place between police and the crowd in the area of Alameda Street and Aliso Street, with demonstrators accusing law enforcement of escalating tensions amid the carryover from peaceful daytime rallies.

    “A dispersal order for the area of Alameda between Aliso and Temple has been ordered … All persons in the area of Alameda and Aliso/Commercial must leave the area,” the LAPD posted on social media at 6:55 p.m. “All persons in the area have 15 minutes to comply. If you remain in the area you may be subject to arrest or other police action.”

    The day’s protests, which drew throngs of crowds in Southern California and across the nation, made pointed critiques of President Trump’s actions on transgender rights, foreign policy, the federal government shutdown, university funding and other matters. Protesters also took on the the the White House’s push to deport immigrants without legal authorization to be in the U.S. by undertaking raids in U.S. cities including Los Angeles. The Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal facility, has become a focal point over anti-ICE sentiment.

    On Saturday, tensions grew around 7 p.m., after LAPD declared the unlawful assembly and began to press a line of protesters outside the facility. Police shot multiple nonlethal rounds, used tear gas and brought in a fleet of horses in an attempt to push back crowds.

    By 8:30 p.m., protesters had largely abandoned their stand near the detention center while police tried to reestablish a line on the street in front of federal building.

    As of 9 p.m., LAPD had reported no arrests.

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    Jaweed Kaleem, Christopher Buchanan

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  • Experts Say Diddy’s Fame Makes Him a Target in Federal Prison

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    Former MDC Brooklyn Associate Warden Dr. DeWayne Hendrix issues a warning for Diddy as his prison placement looms, plus Craig Rothfeld weighs in

    Diddy
    Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTV

    Following his 50-month sentence for two Mann Act violations on October 3, 2025, Sean “Diddy” Combs will be heading to a federal prison- but where? Combs will be evaluated under the Bureau of Prisons’ custody classification system to determine where he’ll be placed behind bars.

    Dr. DeWayne Hendrix, former Warden at the Metropolitan Detention Center (where Combs is currently housed), former Senior Warden with the Bureau of Prisons, and founder of A New Light, tells Los Angeles, “Mr. Combs will be ‘scored’ under the BOP’s classification system and designated to the lowest-security facility that meets his needs, typically within 500 miles of his release residence. With a 50-month sentence and no prior felony convictions, he most likely qualifies for a low security federal prison.”

    Other experts like Craig Rothfeld, firmly state that no one truly knows where Combs will end up. Rothfeld, of Inside Outside Ltd, Criminologist and Prison Consultant (his clients are the likes of Harvey Weinstein and Luigi Mangione), tells Los Angeles exclusively, “At this time, there is no one who knows where Sean Combs is going to spend the remainder of his sentence in prison. Anyone to suggest otherwise is either speculating or worse making it up. It is a fools errand right now for anyone, anywhere, to say they have knowledge of where he is going to wind up. There are many standard and variable factors that will be evaluated by the BOP’s Designation Sentencing & Computation Center (DSCC) in making the final determination on his classification and eventual prison designation.”

    Although Combs was sentenced only on the Mann Act, Judge Arun Subramanian made it clear that his acquitted behavior-brutalizing both Cassandra Ventura and “Jane”-would be considered when determining the length of his lock-up. Dr. Hendrix adds, “Because his conviction is of a sex offense, he may serve his time in a prison that has sex offender programs.  Sex offenders and people who commit violent crimes against women face higher levels of harassment and assault on the inside. Then, adding his celebrity and wealth, the risk of targeting and extortion goes up.”

    On the October 4th episode of the “Two Angry Men” podcast, criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos echoed Hendrix, claiming that Combs’ fame makes him a prime target, increasing the typical dangers, like physical and sexual assault, faced by inmates with similar convictions.

    During Friday’s sentencing, Combs’ attorney Brian Steel revealed that Diddy was targeted to be shanked by a prisoner while at MDC Brooklyn, before a guard stepped in.“It’s a trophy for them, they get recognition if they harm him,” Steel announced in court.

    MDC is notoriously one of the most inhumane jails in the country, with some federal judges even calling it a “third world” jail with no sunlight or fresh air. The defense has cited the disturbing conditions multiple times throughout the trial and in the sentencing memo. Other judges in the Southern District of New York have even factored MDC conditions into sentencing decisions. Notably, in a 2019 memo, SDNY Judge Jed Rakoff stated that it had become ‘routine’ for federal judges to consider the harsh conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center when sentencing defendants (United States vs. Paul Manafort).

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    Dr. Hendrix believes that if Combs is not in protective custody, he will need to make protection arrangements by any means possible. “The BOP can mitigate his risks with separation options and monitoring, but if he remains in general population he will need strong protective arrangements-either formal or informal-to avoid becoming a constant target.” Hendrix also added a strange but common occurrence about how sex offenders are treated in custody- no entry into the TV room. “Sex offenders do try to keep a low profile, but a visible form of abuse is that other inmates won’t allow them in TV rooms.”

    One of Combs’ attorneys Marc Agnifilo claimed that Judge Subramanian “acted like a 13th juror” and said they have plans to appeal the sentence.

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    Lauren Conlin

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  • Authorities launch ‘interagency operation’ at federal jail in New York housing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

    Authorities launch ‘interagency operation’ at federal jail in New York housing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

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    NEW YORK — Investigators from various federal agencies launched an “interagency operation” on Monday at the troubled lockup in New York City where Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held.

    The investigators from the Bureau of Prisons, the Justice Department’s inspector general’s office and other law enforcement agencies had descended on the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Monday, the Bureau of Prisons said in statement to The Associated Press.

    The law enforcement operation is “designed to achieve our shared goal of maintaining a safe environment for both our employees and the incarcerated individuals housed at MDC Brooklyn,” the agency said. Prison officials declined to provide specific details about the operation Monday morning.

    But the move comes as the jail has faced increasing scrutiny over horrific conditions, rampant violence and multiple deaths and amid a push by the Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons to fix problems at the jail and hold perpetrators accountable.

    Last month, federal prosecutors charged nine inmates in connection with a spate of attacks from April to August at the Metropolitan Detention Center, the only federal jail in New York City. The allegations made public last month detailed serious safety and security issues at the jail, including charges after two inmates were stabbed to death and another was speared in the spine with a makeshift icepick. A correctional officer was also charged with shooting at a car during an unauthorized high-speed chase.

    The criminal charges offered a window into violence and dysfunction that has plagued the jail, which houses about 1,200 people, including Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

    In a statement on Monday, the Bureau of Prisons said its operation in Brooklyn was pre-planned and that there is “no active threat.”

    The agency said it wouldn’t provide additional details about what exactly investigators were doing there on Monday until the operation is complete “in an effort to maintain the safety and security of all personnel inside the facility and the integrity of this operation.”

    The facility, in an industrial area on the Brooklyn waterfront, has about 1,200 detainees, down from more than 1,600 in January. It’s used mainly for post-arrest detention for people awaiting trial in federal courts in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Other inmates are there to serve short sentences following convictions.

    Those held at the Brooklyn jail have long complained about rampant violence, dreadful conditions, severe staffing shortages and the widespread smuggling of drugs and other contraband, some of it facilitated by employees. At the same time, they say they’ve been subject to frequent lockdowns and have been barred from leaving their cells for visits, calls, showers or exercise.

    Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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    AP

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