Xiomarie Marrero Álvarez, held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Guaynabo, is seeking at least $3 million in damages after a premature birth, claiming the facility is not equipped to handle pregnant inmates. She is part of a group accused of drug trafficking and of the death of federal officer Michael Maceda, and was jailed without bail on April 12, 2023.
At her intake medical exam she learned she was pregnant and that the pregnancy was high-risk. The suit, filed September 29 by attorney Bámily López Ortiz, alleges MDC staff did not take her to appointments with her gynecologist or other doctors and kept medical records with false information that did not reflect her high blood pressure episodes.
On September 21, 2023, officers used pepper spray during a fight in her unit in which she did not take part, causing breathing problems she identifies as the start of the chain of events leading to the premature birth. On September 29 she had abdominal pain that staff did not address until her whole housing unit shouted for help.
She was taken to Centro Médico, where she was found to have contractions and a vaginal infection, then returned to jail with no follow-up care because it was a Saturday and no doctor was available. That night she was diagnosed with preeclampsia and prepared for an emergency cesarean. The suit says officers would not let her notify relatives or her lawyer and wanted the surgery postponed until their shift change.
Her son was born October 1, 2023, at 28 weeks and stayed in neonatal intensive care until December 10. Judge Aida Delgado Colón granted an emergency bail hearing, and Marrero Álvarez saw her son for five minutes on October 2. Doctors have preliminarily diagnosed developmental delays in the boy, who says only "mamá" and "no." The complaint also alleges "emotional intimidation" by jail staff.