"Initially, when he was in a private cell, my father exercised one hour each morning, then wrote a diary, recording all his thoughts," lawmaker Nicolas Maduro Guerra, son of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, told Der Spiegel on 14/5.

The US military conducted a raid in early January, arresting and bringing Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to the US, where they are detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) awaiting trial on drug-related charges and other offenses.

President Maduro and his wife are escorted from a helicopter to a New York court on 5/1. Photo: Reuters

The MDC holds about 1,300 inmates and has been described as "hell on earth" due to poor detention conditions and violence. Maduro and his wife were held in solitary confinement initially.

However, Guerra stated that since last month's Easter week, Maduro was transferred to a general cell with 18 other inmates, half of whom speak Spanish. "My father communicates with them, watches television, and learns a little English," Guerra said.

This is an unusual detention method for a high-profile prisoner like Maduro, a former head of state. Typically, prisoners like him are held separately, with minimal contact with fellow inmates and the outside world.

Sam Mangel, a US federal prison consultant, believes Maduro could be in danger if housed with other inmates. "No one knows what those inmates, including gang members, think of him," the expert said.

President Donald Trump's administration and MDC prison officials have not commented on the information.

An artist's rendering shows President Maduro being escorted to a federal court hearing in New York, US on 26/3. Photo: AP

In the 14/5 interview, Maduro's son revealed that US special forces used "technology we had never seen here" during the raid on Caracas, which surprised his entire family.

"We underestimated them and overestimated our own capabilities. We should have done more to protect my father. We failed in that," Guerra said.

The Venezuelan president and his wife made their first court appearance in a US court and pleaded not guilty. The duration of the trial remains unclear.

After Maduro's arrest, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president. The US and Venezuela announced in March that they were restoring diplomatic relations, signaling an easing of bilateral tensions.

Ngoc Anh (According to TASS, Yahoo News, Der Spiegel)