The New York City resident who is being detained in Venezuela is the son of a successful city musician and had just finished a more than two-year journey across South America to grieve her death, his aunt told The Post.
James Luckey-Lange, 28, of Staten Island, had concluded his journey of self-discovery in December when he told his aunt, Abbie Luckey, that he would finally be coming home to join his family for a Christmas cruise.
It was set to be a major reunion after he embarked on his South American trek in 2022 following the death of his mother, Diane Luckey, who went by Q Lazzarus and is best known for her single “Goodbye Horses” featured in the 1991 film “Silence of the Lambs.”
Luckey-Lange was prepared to depart from the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Dec. 12, but he never got the chance to leave.
Instead, he found himself among the five Americans currently imprisoned in Venezuela amid rising tensions between Caracas and Washington.
Luckey last spoke to her nephew on Dec. 8, when he informed her that he would be back home in time to join her and the rest of his family for a weeklong Christmas cruise getaway on Dec. 14.
“After we returned from the cruise on Dec. 21, we still hadn’t heard from him,” Luckey said. “At that point, we knew something was wrong.”
As the family scrambled for answers, they found help from the New York Times, with a reporter working on the story of the detained Americans informing Luckey that her nephew was among those wrongfully imprisoned.
The worried aunt said she has yet to hear a word from Luckey-Lange or from a US official about his current status.
“Until I’m able to speak to him again, I don’t think I can stop feeling crazy and anxious,” Luckey said.
She described her nephew as a “free spirit” who always loved to travel and dreamed of seeing the Amazon rainforest in person.
He went ahead with the trip following his mother’s death in July of 2022.
Luckey said her sister’s death, followed by the death of Luckey-Lange’s father, left her nephew devastated, with his trip to South America serving as a chance to heal.
“He was ready to come home and stay here,” she said, noting that Luckey-Lange was preparing to settle down in his mother’s native New Jersey.
“He’s been through a lot of sorrow,” Luckey added. “He’s not at peace, and he won’t be until he comes home.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has a history of using detained Americans, regardless of whether or not they faced legitimate criminal charges, as bargaining chips with the US.
Previous detainees have also detailed abusive conditions in Venezuela’s prison system, with many condemning Caracas over the lack of due process and bogus charges pressed against them.
