Rep. Nicole Malliotakis on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, June 18, 2025. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The New York City-area Republican said he had likely been detained for "a couple of weeks," before Maduro's ouster.
Malliotakis said his family suspected him of being unlawfully detained, but it's not clear if he's classified as such by the U.S. government.
Her office sent Fox News Digital a longer statement, "While we have not been contacted by the family of James Luckey-Lange, we learned about the situation from the media on Friday and immediately contacted the U.S. Department of State."
FROM SANCTIONS TO SEIZURE: WHAT MADURO'S CAPTURE MEANS FOR VENEZUELA’S ECONOMY
"For months, the State Department has advised American citizens not to travel to Venezuela, determining a very high risk of wrongful detention of U.S. nationals in the country. While we have not yet been able to confirm he has been detained, we are engaged, actively monitoring the situation, and have elevated our concern directly to the White House and the Secretary of State, and the State Department has been in contact with the family," Malliotakis' office said.
"It is our hope that our constituent will soon safely return to the United States."
Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in handcuffs, are escorted into an armored car en route to a federal courthouse in Manhattan on Jan. 5, 2026, in New York City. (XNY/Star Max/GC Images)
A story published in the Staten Island Advance, a local outlet in Malliotakis' district, cited the New York Post in naming Luckey-Lange as being potentially detained by Venezuela since arriving there in December.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The outlets reported that it's not clear if he had a visa to enter Venezuela.
President Donald Trump said last weekend that the U.S. would "run" the country until an adequate transition were to occur.
Meanwhile, Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as acting president on Tuesday.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-lawmaker-pushes-free-us-citizen-reportedly-detained-venezuela