GOP lawmaker pushes to free US citizen reportedly detained in Venezuela

By Fox News · Fox News

EXCLUSIVE: A House GOP lawmaker is working to find more information after learning one of her constituents was possibly detained by Venezuela's government. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital she was "advocating for the State Department to assist" with a U.S. citizen from her district who is possibly being held by the Latin American government. "My biggest issue at the moment is that I have a constituent that is suspected of being unlawfully detained by the Venezuelan government," Malliotakis told Fox News Digital. She said she was appealing to the State Department to use its "leverage" to get the man released. TRUMP BACKS MADURO LOYALIST OVER VENEZUELA OPPOSITION LEADER IN POST-CAPTURE TRANSITION 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." Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for further information. AFTER MADURO, VENEZUELA POWER VACUUM EXPOSES BRUTAL INSIDERS AND ENFO…