New photos from a federal jail in New York show ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro noticeably slimmer, smiling and flashing a peace sign months after his dramatic capture by U.S. forces.
Maduro, 63, appears in a gray tracksuit and white sneakers inside Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center in photographs dated June 25, 2026.
The images offer a rare glimpse of the former socialist strongman behind bars as he awaits trial on sweeping federal drug trafficking charges.
U.S. Special Forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a nighttime raid on their heavily guarded Caracas residence on Jan. 3, an operation ordered by President Donald Trump.
The pair were later transported to New York, where federal prosecutors accused them of using their positions of power to work with drug cartels and move massive quantities of cocaine into the United States between 1999 and 2025.
Both Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty.
The new jailhouse photos show a starkly different setting for a man who once ruled Venezuela from presidential palaces while overseeing a socialist government that drove millions of citizens to flee the country amid economic collapse and political repression.
In one image, Maduro grins while raising two fingers in a peace sign. Another shows him standing in the same casual clothing inside the detention facility.
His appearance has also changed noticeably since his capture, with the former Venezuelan leader looking significantly thinner than he did while in power.
Maduro’s fall marked one of the most stunning geopolitical developments in the Western Hemisphere in years.
JUST NOW: The official account of Nicolás Maduro has released new photographs of him taken in prison. pic.twitter.com/HcjDWLxKRI
— WORLD NEWS (@_MAGA_NEWS_) August 30, 2026
For more than a decade, he maintained control of Venezuela despite sanctions, international pressure and repeated accusations that his government rigged elections, jailed political opponents and dismantled democratic institutions.
That reign came to an abrupt end when American forces seized him and Flores and brought them to the United States to face prosecution.
Federal prosecutors allege Maduro and his allies helped facilitate an enormous cocaine pipeline into the U.S. while using the Venezuelan government to shield their activities.
The case is now headed toward a high-profile federal trial.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office and Maduro’s defense attorneys confirmed last month that the trial is scheduled to begin in June 2027.
Until then, Maduro remains locked up at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a dramatic reversal for a man who once wielded near-total power over Venezuela.
Venezuela has been led since Maduro’s capture by his former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez.
Rodríguez has since moved closer to the Trump administration, marking a sharp change in relations between Washington and Caracas following years of hostility under Maduro.
The latest photos now provide another striking symbol of that reversal: Venezuela’s former socialist ruler, no longer surrounded by loyalists and security forces, posing for the camera from inside a U.S. federal jail.
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