Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro studies religion and philosophy in the New York prison, where he is detained, and shows interest in Judaism, according to The New York Times.
© Juan BARRETO / AFP via Getty Images
09/11/2026
by
Lusa
O former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro studies religion in the New York prison where he is detained and has been interested in Judaism, as reported today in The New York Times.
The New York Times, which cites anonymous sources in addition to the circumstances and experiences at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), said that Maduro “dedicates his abundant free time to study religious and philosophical texts” and has met with prison chaplains, “including a priest and a rabbi.”.
In the past, Maduro showed an interest in spirituality and said that he has Sephardic Jewish ancestry on the part of his grandparents, who converted to Catholicism in Venezuela, but “he had not expressed an interest in Judaism until his capture” by the United States in January, told the newspaper nearby sources.
The chavista leader “spent most of his time reading, including the Bible and the Qur’an”, in the MDC unit that hosts other high profile inmates, such as rapper Sean Combs, known as “Diddy”, the former cryptocurrency executive Sam Bankman-Fried and Luigi Mangione, charged with the murder of the director-general of the largest American health insurance company.
The news from the American newspaper also refers to the weight loss of Maduro and his wife, Cili Flores, who is held in the female wing of the MDC, but is integrated into the general prison population.
Mature “lost much weight” and, in recent months, has complained about the quality of the food, which seems to have contributed to look “visibly thinner”, details the New York newspaper.
As for Flores, the newspaper cites documents already published in the file of the case, in which her defense states that she lost about 11 kilos and two teeth, which was prescribed nitroglycerin for chest pain and which possibly suffered a “small heart attack in July”.
The trial against Maduro and Flores for conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism, cocaine trafficking to the United States, possession of destructive weapons and torture is scheduled for June 14, 2027.
The next hearing of the case is scheduled for December and is related to Maduro and Flores' defense requests for the prosecution to be filed under sovereign immunity.