MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Maduro releases his first images from the Brooklyn jail, taken two months ago

Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro released on Sunday, through his X account, the first known photographs since he entered the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he has been held since January. The images show him in sportswear making a victory sign.

“I am sending these photos as a small gift to all my grandchildren, to the children, and to all the good people who love us,” he wrote in the accompanying message. “I want you to know that we stand firm, with our hearts full of your love.”

The photographs are not recent. According to sources close to him, they were taken on June 25, during Father's Day week; Maduro himself saw them on July 13 and they reached his circle by post this week. There is no confirmation from the Federal Bureau of Prisons regarding their authenticity or date.

Pequeño regalo de amor y esperanza

Envío estas fotos como un pequeño regalo a todos mis nietos y nietas, a los niños y niñas, y a toda la gente noble que nos ama. pic.twitter.com/Z6u3130arn

— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) August 30, 2026

Maduro was captured in Caracas on January 3 by US forces and transferred to New York along with his wife, Cilia Flores. Both pleaded not guilty to the four narcoterrorism-related charges brought against them. “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I remain president of my country,” he said at his first appearance, at which he also argued he had been “kidnapped.” His lawyer described the operation as “a military kidnapping.” There is no conviction against him.

Federal judge Alvin Hellerstein set the trial to begin in June 2027, following a joint request from prosecutors and the defence in July. Before that, a hearing on November 17 will determine whether Maduro enjoys immunity as a head of state, an argument with which his defence seeks to challenge the entire proceeding.

Little has emerged about his conditions in detention. According to his son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, he spent the first months in an isolation cell and now shares space with other inmates. He has 510 minutes a month for calls to the outside world, with a limit of sixteen minutes per conversation, which he uses daily to speak with Caracas.

The release of the images comes two days after the government of acting president Delcy Rodríguez, formerly his vice-president, announced alongside the US administration an agreement granting Washington majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan reserves, around 21% of the country's total. The arrangement is structured through a joint venture with 100-year concessions over seventeen fields.