US officials are still collecting information about what the Americans were doing in Venezuela and at the time of their detention, the official added. The New York Times was first to report on the recently detained Americans. The State Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The New York Times reported, citing a US official, that one of the recently detained Americans is James Luckey-Lange, 28, from Staten Island, New York. The family hopes the State Department will declare Luckey-Lange “unlawfully detained” to add urgency to his case, Aridjis Fuentes said.

Source: CNN January 03, 2026 12:25 UTC