Maduro Turns to Religion in Prison, Meets Clergy

Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has focused on religious practices since his arrest and is spending his time reading various religious books, including the Quran, at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

In less than a year since he was ousted and arrested in a US military operation, Venezuela has undergone an extraordinary transformation. The country has shifted from being a staunch rival of the United States to coming under US protection.

Meanwhile, Mr. Maduro has begun a spiritual journey of his own in a Brooklyn prison. Several people familiar with his current situation and prison life said the former president spends his long, idle hours reading various religious and philosophical books. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Mr. Maduro’s interest in spirituality dates back many years. He has also met with religious leaders in prison, including a Christian priest and a Jewish rabbi.

Mr. Maduro had publicly claimed that he had Jewish roots. He identified himself as a descendant of a Sephardic Jewish community that migrated from the Dutch Antilles to Venezuela during the last century. However, people close to him said he had shown little particular interest in Judaism before his arrest.

During Mr. Maduro’s presidency, Venezuela faced a severe food shortage. He has also been accused of ordering the torture of various detainees, including US citizens, while trying to hold on to power. His legal team declined to comment on the report.

While in office, Mr. Maduro sought support from Venezuela’s rapidly growing Evangelical Christian electorate. Although he was a practising Catholic, he developed a close relationship with a socialist priest. Mr. Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores and his successor Delcy Rodriguez were also influenced by the late Indian spiritual guru Sathya Sai Baba.

However, his interest in religion appears to have deepened since his imprisonment at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The prison, which houses around 1,300 inmates, has been plagued by various problems, including violence and staff shortages.

Mr. Maduro is being held in a special unit that has previously housed high-profile inmates such as Sean Combs, Sam Bankman-Fried and Luigi Mangione. He spends most of his time reading religious books, including the Bible and the Quran.

Earlier, The New Yorker also reported that Mr. Maduro regularly reads the Bible.

The 63-year-old faces several serious charges in the United States, including allegations of helping traffic thousands of tonnes of cocaine. His trial is expected to begin next year. His 70-year-old wife, Cilia Flores, has also been charged in the same indictment.

After years of pressuring Mr. Maduro to relinquish power, US President Donald Trump ordered a military operation in Venezuela on January 3. US special forces launched a nighttime raid in the capital, Caracas, overpowered Mr. Maduro’s bodyguards and arrested him and his wife.

Flores is also being held at the same detention centre. However, unlike Mr. Maduro, she is being held with other inmates rather than in a separate unit. Both have pleaded not guilty.

It remains unclear whether Mr. Maduro’s sudden interest in Judaism is purely spiritual or part of an intellectual pursuit.

However, links between Judaism, Israel and Latin America’s political elites are not new. Argentine President Javier Milei studies the Torah with considerable interest and regularly visits Israel. Several other right-wing leaders in Latin America, including El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, have established strong political ties with Israel, although they do not publicly discuss Judaism.

People familiar with Mr. Maduro’s prison life said he had lost considerable weight since his arrival at the detention centre.

In recent years, he had been careful about his diet and followed a ‘Paleo diet’, based on the presumed eating habits of the Stone Age, until his arrest.

However, the poor quality of prison food is believed to be the main reason for his rapid weight loss. He has appeared noticeably thinner in recent months and has also complained about the food.

Meanwhile, former Venezuelan First Lady Flores is reportedly in a more fragile condition.

According to court documents, Flores was recovering from uterine surgery when she was arrested in January. She is being given nitroglycerin for chest pain in prison. She has already lost two teeth and more than 25 pounds in weight.

She was held in solitary confinement for three months. After being transferred to the general inmate population, she reportedly fell ill after being exposed to pepper spray used to break up a fight between two inmates.

Her legal team believes Flores may have suffered a mild heart attack in July. She reportedly sleeps only three to four hours a day.

Flores sought bail on health grounds, and details of these medical problems emerged in the documents submitted in support of her application. However, then-Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein rejected her bail request. After his death last month at the age of 92, Judge Analisa Torres took over the case.