EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) personally lobbied Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday for the release of James Luckey-Lange, a constituent believed to be detained in Venezuela.
Malliotakis, who represents the Staten Island resident in Congress, approached Rubio after a briefing given to all House members on the capture of former dictator Nicolas Maduro over the weekend.
Rubio’s response, she said, was that it was of the “utmost priority to get American citizens released.”
“We continue to get it elevated with the agencies and the White House, and we’re hopeful that he’ll be able to return to the district soon,” Malliotakis told the Washington Examiner in an interview.
Luckey-Lange, who crossed into Venezuela in early December as part of a trek through South America, is one of several Americans thought to be apprehended by the Maduro regime in recent weeks, and though most have not been publicly named, the New York Times revealed last week that he is one of two who may have been wrongfully detained, a special designation for citizens whose arrest is believed to be politically motivated.
Malliotakis has not been in contact with the family of Luckey-Lange, son of the late musician Diane Luckey, but initially reached out to the State Department after her office received inquiries about his detention from local and state media.
The agency would not confirm his arrest, she said, but did acknowledge that officials were in touch with the family. Malliotakis’s inquiry came hours before Trump approved a risky operation to remove Maduro from power, clearing the way for an interim government led by Maduro’s deputy.
“This was on Friday,” Malliotakis said. “This was before we captured Maduro, which obviously complicated things.”
At the outset of Trump’s second term, the State Department successfully negotiated the return of some Americans from Venezuela, but the Venezuelan government stepped up its detentions after the president began a weekslong military campaign against alleged drug boats that culminated in Maduro’s arrest.
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The thrust of Rubio’s briefing to lawmakers on Wednesday centered on the operation itself, with administration officials afterward laying out a “threefold process” for the transition that includes the amnesty and return of exiled opposition leaders.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment by press time on its diplomatic efforts to secure the release of American prisoners. At least five have been detained in recent months, according to CNN, with some believed to be apprehended as bargaining chips for the Maduro government.
