Maduro spends his days in a US prison reading the Bible and the Quran

Less than a year after being ousted in a US military operation and imprisoned in the United States, the life of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has changed in a major way. The 63-year-old Maduro is now spending his days as a prisoner at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Spending his free time within the four walls of the prison, the former socialist leader of Venezuela is now immersed in reading religious and philosophical books. This information has come from several sources familiar with Maduro's current life.

Citing sources on condition of anonymity, The New York Times reported that since his imprisonment, Maduro has spent most of his day reading various religious texts, especially the Bible and the Holy Quran. He also regularly discusses religious matters with the prison chaplain and a Jewish rabbi.

In his political career, Maduro was known as a Catholic Christian and was always keen to win the votes of Venezuela's fast-growing evangelical Christians. At the same time, he, his wife Cilia Flores and his successor Delcy Rodriguez were followers of the late controversial Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba.

But although he publicly claimed Sephardic Jewish ancestry, Maduro showed no particular interest in Judaism before his imprisonment. It was only after going to a US prison that this religious connection with a rabbi began.

Notably, such a leaning towards religion among top Latin American leaders is not new. Argentine President Javier Milei regularly reads the Torah (the Jewish scripture) and has visited Israel in the Middle East.

The Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, which holds about 1,300 inmates, has long suffered from violence and a severe staff shortage. In the past, high-profile inmates such as rapper Sean Combs (P. Diddy), crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried and Luigi Mangione were held in this prison.

According to the information, Maduro has lost weight rapidly since arriving in prison. While he was president, he followed the 'paleo diet' (a Stone Age eating pattern). But due to the poor-quality food in prison, he has become much thinner in recent months and has complained about the food.

The physical condition of Maduro's wife, 70-year-old former Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores, is even more critical. According to court documents, at the time of her arrest, Flores was receiving treatment after uterine surgery.

She was recently given nitroglycerin for chest pain, two of her teeth have fallen out, and she has lost more than 25 pounds. After three months in solitary confinement, she was moved to a general inmate cell, where she also fell ill from tear gas thrown to stop a fight. Her lawyers believe she had a mild heart attack last July.

Although a bail application was filed citing her deteriorating physical condition, US Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein rejected it. Judge Hellerstein died last month at the age of 92, and Judge Analisa Torres has now taken charge of the case.

On 3 January this year, on the direct orders of President Donald Trump, US special forces troops carried out an operation in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. In the face of that operation, Maduro was ousted from power and imprisoned in the United States.