Three of the most notorious drug traffickers in Mexico, Rafael Caro Quintero, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes 'El Viceroy' and Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, are incarcerated in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Brooklyn, New York, considered one of the worst prisons in the United States due to its poor living conditions and multiple violent incidents in recent years. Other high-profile individuals are also in this prison, including the former Secretary of Public Security of Mexico, Genaro García Luna; music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs; singer R. Kelly; former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado; NXIVM sex cult founder Keith Raniere; and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.
The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn was built in the 1990s to address overcrowding in New York's prisons. The facility has been criticized for its terrible living conditions, uncontrolled violence, and shortage of staff. Detainees have complained of being unjustly segregated and lacking security. In 2024, two inmates were reportedly stabbed and at least four people took their own lives in the past three years.
After the cartels were designated as terrorist organizations, U.S. authorities are expected to seek the maximum penalty for the delivered drug traffickers, including Caro Quintero, who is accused of the murder of DEA agent Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena. The prison houses more than 1,200 detainees awaiting trial or serving short sentences in federal courts in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
In addition to Caro Quintero, 'El Viceroy' and 'El Mayo' Zambada, other detained kingpins who could face the death penalty in the same prison are José Rodolfo Villarreal Hernández, alias 'El Gato'; Andrew Clark, alias 'El Dictator'; and Luis Geraldo Méndez Estevane, alias 'El Tío'. Inmates in this prison have reported inhuman conditions, violence among inmates, and prolonged power outages that have exposed their lives to dangers.
In a letter, Genaro García Luna described witnessing murders, stabbings, and threats to his integrity during the nearly five years he was incarcerated in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The prison remains a place where detainees face constant hardships and dangers in a hostile and violent environment.
