A security expert told Fox News Digital the first 48 hours are critical in the search for an American Christian missionary kidnapped in the West African nation of Niger, who may have already been moved between Islamic State-controlled areas where an ISIS offshoot operates.

Bryan Stern, founder of the crisis response group Grey Bull Rescue, said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that in most organized kidnappings, those who seize a hostage are rarely the same people who hold them.

«What happens in most of these cases is whoever took the hostage isn’t who’s holding on to the hostage,» Stern said. «The people who hold hostages generally are a lot smarter, a lot more capable, less disposable… so getting to them as soon as possible does matter in a very demonstrable way.»

Stern said every passing hour reduces the chance of recovery. In many cases, hostages are quickly traded or sold between groups with differing motives — from ransom to propaganda — making it difficult to know what the captors want.

AMERICAN MISSIONARY KIDNAPPED IN NIGER BY SUSPECTED ISLAMIST MILITANTS, SOURCES SAY

«It’s easy to understand who took somebody, but once people start getting traded around like cards and stuff, it’s hard to then understand what the current holding party wants,» he said.

The groups often operate with their own chain of command and pecking order, each with different goals and levels of influence.

«All those different things play into how you’re gonna get somebody back, and the most dangerous thing to do is send ninjas in and shoot everybody,» Stern said. «That’s the most highest-risk thing that we do because there’s no margin for error.»

I WAS KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM, AND SURVIVED. NO THANKS TO THE WEST’S SILENCE

Niger’s junta leader Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani salutes during an official ceremony in Niamey, Niger, on Aug. 26, 2023. Tchiani seized power in a July 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and has ruled the West African nation since. (AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. officials confirmed they are aware of the kidnapping, which took place in Niamey, about 100 yards from Niger’s presidential palace. The missionary, a pilot for the evangelical group Serving in Mission, was reportedly taken north toward an area controlled by an ISIS offshoot.

A State Department spokesperson said embassy officials are working closely with local authorities and that the Trump administration views the safe return of the U.S. citizen as a top priority. The U.S. Embassy has also restricted staff movements to armored vehicles and prohibited visits to restaurants and open-air markets.

Stern described the region as «31 flavors,» meaning there is everything from Russian proxies to criminal gangs and Islamic fundamentalists running around.

CRUZ CLASHES WITH NIGERIA OVER HIS CLAIMS 50,000 CHRISTIANS KILLED SINCE 2009 IN RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE

A general view of a crowded street market in Niamey, Niger, on May 17, 2023. The capital city has faced rising instability since the 2023 military coup that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum. (Michele Cattani / AFP via Getty Images)

While it’s easy to assume Islamist militants were behind the abduction, Stern cautioned, «until you know…it becomes speculation.»

«At some point, somebody will ask for something, you hope,» he said. «It’s very scary when they don’t ask for anything… the worst case scenario is a hostage taken by someone who doesn’t want anything. Then there’s no play to be made other than find them and kill them, and hopefully you survive that process.»

For now, the focus is on finding proof of life and establishing communication.

U.S. special operations units are likely monitoring surveillance and communications from the region, but Stern cautioned that a rescue attempt would be «the most dangerous thing special operations does.»

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Officials have not said whether any group has claimed responsibility or issued any demands.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.

Democrats pulled out all the stops on Wednesday to delay the vote on a short-term spending bill to reopen the government — the 12th time the Senate has considered the measure since the government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., embarked on a nearly 24-hour speech at 6:23 p.m. on Tuesday, concluding his remarks at 5:00 p.m. the next day. Merkley, 68, warned viewers of the authoritarianism he said had become a facet of the Trump administration.

«Be aware and worried about the possibility of the use of an emergency in order to expand authoritarian power. That’s the position we’re in now in the United States of America. Authoritarianism with a rubber-stamp Congress, a court that’s delivering more and more power to the executive and an executive who has a well-planned strategy,» Merkley said in his remarks.

JOHNSON WARNS US ‘BARRELING TOWARD ONE OF THE LONGEST SHUTDOWNS’ IN HISTORY

«Republicans have shut down the government to continue the strategy of slashing Americans’ healthcare,» he said.

His speech comes as lawmakers remain gridlocked over federal funding for 2026. Whereas Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a short-term funding bill to keep the government open through Nov. 21, Democrats in the Senate have voted a dozen times to defeat the package.

The Senate once again failed to advance the package on Wednesday. It failed in a 54-46 vote. 

Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have demanded an extension of COVID-era supplemental funding for Obamacare healthcare subsidies that are set to sunset in 2025. 

SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, update reporters following their face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders on the government funding crisis, at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 29, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Republicans need the support of seven Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster. The GOP holds 53 seats in the chamber. 

Merkley, who came close to breaking Sen. Cory Booker’s 25-hour and 4-minute record that was set earlier this year, put the shutdown blame on Republicans throughout his discourse.

Booker praised Merkley’s stalling efforts online.

«Listening to Senator Jeff Merkley for over 22 hours, it is clear that we need to stand up for our democracy. We must continue to call out and counter Trump’s authoritarian tactics. Thank you, Jeff!» Booker said in a post on X. 

BOOKER CONCLUDES RECORD 25-HOUR SPEECH AGAINST TRUMP, MUSK, MARKING THE LONGEST EVER ON THE SENATE FLOOR

On the issue of authoritarianism, which comprised the bulk of Merkley’s remarks, Merkley decried what he saw as the Trump administration’s attempts to push the limits on executive power — like its deployment of the National Guard to urban areas.

«If you remove a clear standard as to whether there is a rebellion and just say a president can deploy the military on a whim in places he doesn’t like against peaceful protesters to distract Americans or to exercise a suppression of dissent, then you have flung the doors open to tyranny. To a strongman state,» Merkley said. 

National Guard members began patrolling Memphis in October as part of a federal task force established by President Donald Trump to combat what the administration says is violent crime in the city.  (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis, and Portland, Oregon, citing a need to protect law enforcement and government operations in those cities.

Un video que reposteó el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, desató una tormenta política en Italia. El material asegura que la primera ministra Giorgia Meloni decidió romper con la Unión Europa y busca negociar un acuerdo comercial directo con Washington y sugirió además un recorte en el apoyo italiano a Ucrania.

“Giorgia Meloni desafía la UE y trata de obtener un acuerdo comercial directo con Trump. Bien hecho Meloni. Es una movida brillante”, comentó la activista ultraconservadora, Lynne Patton, autora del video que compartió Trump.

Leé también: Así fue el ingreso de Sarkozy a la cárcel: la despedida de Carla Bruni y el deseo de llevar dos libros

La oposición exige una respuesta urgente

Desde el primer momento, la oposición italiana salió al cruce y pidió una desmentida oficial. Francesco Boccia, presidente de los senadores del Partido Democrático (PD), y Piero De Luca calificaron la situación de “gravedad inaudita” y reclamaron que Meloni aclare su postura.

En la misma línea, Luana Zanella de Alianza Verde y Sinistra (Avs) expresó: “Esperamos que el miércoles la premier dé explicaciones en el Parlamento”. Por su parte, el vicepresidente de Italia Viva, Enrico Borghi, fue tajante: “Mientras en Italia se denuncia un video falso hecho con inteligencia artificial contra Donzelli, Trump publica un informe periodístico con supuestas declaraciones falsas de Meloni. La premier debe desmentir de inmediato al presidente de Estados Unidos. Si no lo hace, debemos asumir que el Gobierno quiere recortar la ayuda a Kiev y negociar unilateralmente los aranceles, pasando por encima de la UE. Sería gravísimo”.

Borghi fue más allá y advirtió: “Cada vez está más claro que Washington está usando a Palacio de Chigi como palanca para romper la unidad europea”.

El Gobierno italiano salió a desmentir

Ante la presión, el gobierno de Meloni emitió un comunicado para desactivar la crisis: «Las negociaciones comerciales, como es sabido, son competencia exclusiva de la Unión Europea y están lideradas por la Comisión Europea“.

Sin embargo, reconocieron que “desde hace tiempo existe un diálogo bilateral que acompaña la acción de la Comisión sobre los aranceles antidumping propuestos por el Departamento de Comercio de Estados Unidos contra algunos productores italianos de pasta”, indicó el Corriere della Sera.

Leé también: El video del robo en el Louvre: un turista filmó a uno de los ladrones cuando rompía una vitrina con las joyas

El vínculo Meloni-Trump y la aclaración oficialista

El diputado de Fratelli d’Italia y presidente de la Comisión de Finanzas de la Cámara, Marco Osnato, también se refirió al tema en una entrevista radial: «La relación entre Giorgia Meloni y Donald Trump es de colaboración muy estrecha. Por las palabras de Trump se entiende que considera a Meloni una socia confiable e importante, pero quiero aclarar que la misma buena relación se dio también con Biden. Nadie en Italia se casó con Trump ni es trumpista de la primera o la segunda hora».

El polémico piropo de Trump a Meloni

La semana pasada, Trump elogió la belleza de la primera ministra italiana, única mujer entre los dirigentes presentes en la cumbre de Gaza en Egipto.

“No tengo derecho a decirlo, porque habitualmente puede significar el fin de la carrera política si uno lo dice, pero ella es una mujer bella”, dijo en su discurso el mandatario estadounidense que copresidió la conferencia cuyo objetivo era garantizar el acuerdo entre Israel y Hamas para poner fin a la guerra en Gaza.

Trump dudó y luego dijo: “Me arriesgo”, buscando la mirada de Meloni.

“¿Dónde está? ¿No le molesta si digo que es bella? Porque es cierto”, afirmó el mandatario de 79 años, que se casó tres veces.

“Ella es muy respetada en Italia. Es una política muy exitosa”, añadió Trump. De pie justo detrás de él, la jefa de Gobierno se limitó a sonreír.