Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who spent three months in the Brooklyn Federal Detention Centre, revealed detailed accounts of life inside the facility, the same prison in which Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is reportedly being held, according to US media outlets.
In an interview with the Russian outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda, Bout described his experience, explaining that the prison is equipped according to standardised specifications that include colours, furnishings, and double-occupancy and multi-level cells. He noted that detention rooms are distributed across different floors. He himself was housed on the ninth floor in a double cell, while Maduro, according to reports, was placed on the second floor, possibly in a smaller room to ensure privacy. Bout added that each floor includes common areas furnished with tables, chairs, and televisions for sitting and recreation.
Bout explained that food is limited and served according to a fixed weekly schedule, consisting of meals low in protein and high in carbohydrates. Some days are exceptions, such as hamburgers on Wednesdays, chicken with mashed potatoes on Thursdays, and fish on Fridays. Tea, coffee, and juices are rare, and soup is served sparingly. Detainees can purchase certain items from the prison commissary to compensate for food shortages.
As for clothing, Bout confirmed that it is standardised for all unconvicted detainees and consists of sweatpants, a pullover jacket, and simple shoes, typically in orange or blue. Regarding facilities, each cell contains a toilet and a sink, while shared showers are located on each floor and are available for use freely.
Bout emphasised that the strict regime inside the prison is designed to impose discipline on detainees, stressing that such precise details cannot be known except by those who have previously been held in the same facility.
It is worth noting that the prison has recently held well-known figures, including hip hop star Sean Diddy Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell, and former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was accused of drug trafficking and later received a pardon from US President Donald Trump. The facility has also witnessed several incidents, including a power outage during the winter of 2019 and a stabbing incident in 2024 that resulted in the deaths of two inmates. In recent years, the prison has also begun detaining undocumented migrants as part of immigration enforcement campaigns.
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