Liverpool’s Luis Diaz with this father back in Colombia. (Credit: Twitter)
Diaz’s mother Cilenis Marulanda was rescued hours after the abduction in Barrancas, but his father Luis Manuel Diaz has been missing ever since.
The Colombian government on Thursday accused the ELN guerrilla group, with which it is seeking to negotiate peace, of kidnapping Liverpool winger Luis Diaz’s parents in their home town last weekend.
Diaz’s mother Cilenis Marulanda was rescued hours after the abduction in Barrancas, but his father Luis Manuel Diaz has been missing ever since.
Colombian government announces that ELN, criminal armed group, are the ones who kidnapped Luis Díaz’s father.There’s still no further update on his rescue after 5 days, as @PSierraR reports. pic.twitter.com/mJ3PNv81Ex
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 2, 2023
READ: Kidnapping of Liverpool Footballer Luis Diaz’s Father Stuns Colombian Police. What We Know?
The crime “was perpetrated by a unit belonging to the ELN,” a government official said on X, formerly Twitter, adding: “we demand the ELN immediately free” the missing man, who local media say is 56 years old.
The ELN and the government of leftist President Gustavo Petro are in the midst of peace negotiations and a six-month ceasefire which entered into force in August.
The parents of Colombia and Liverpool player Diaz were abducted Saturday by armed men on motorcycles at a gas station in their home town of 38,000 people in the northern La Guajira department.
Marulanda was rescued hours later and a massive search operation was launched for her husband.
Colombian authorities have said there has been no ransom demand.
The ELN, or National Liberation Army, has not claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
“We demand the ELN immediately free Luis Manuel Diaz,” said Thursday’s statement signed by Otty Patino, the head of the government delegation in peace talks with the ELN.
He added it was the ELN’s “responsibility to guarantee his life and integrity.”
Attorney General Francisco Barbosa has said the older Diaz “could be” in Venezuela, without giving further details.
Colombian police have offered a reward equivalent to about $48,000 for information that leads them to Diaz and his captors.
Diogo Jota’s touching tribute to teammate Luis Diaz, who is absent today after his parents were kidnapped in Colombia, with his father still missing ❤️ pic.twitter.com/MY7dum62KM— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 29, 2023
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The younger Luis Diaz, who has not spoken publicly about the kidnapping, has played for his country 43 times and arrived at Liverpool last year from Portuguese club Porto.
He has played 11 games with Liverpool and scored three goals, and is the first Indigenous Colombian to make it to world football’s top echelons.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)