By Joiner Martínez
02 Nov 2023, 16:43 PM EDT
The guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) would be behind the kidnapping of the father of Liverpool soccer player Luis Díaz, according to the Colombian government.
In a statement from the Colombian government it is reported: “We have had official knowledge that the kidnapping carried out on October 28, in Barrancas, department of La Guajira, of which Luis Manuel Diaz and Cilenis Marulanda, father and mother of the player of football Luis Fernando Diaz Maralanda, was perpetrated by a unit belonging to the ELN.”
The Colombian government delegate adds in his document: “We express every solidarity with Luis Diaz, his family with the entire country and with the millions of followers of the player in the world.”
The ELN has kidnapped Luis Díaz’s father. The confirmation was made by the government in a statement signed by Otty Patiño, as chief delegate of the negotiation in the peace talks. Patiño was a guerrilla member of the M-19 where he accompanied the current president of Colombia.
We are in Peace… pic.twitter.com/MQX6GzZvFe— Cesar Augusto Londoño (@cesaralo) November 2, 2023
Luis Díaz’s father demands freedom
Luis Manuel Díaz, 58, was kidnapped on Saturday, October 28, along with his wife Cilenis Marulanda near the municipality of Barrancas, in the department of La Guajira, in northern Colombia, by armed people who were traveling on motorcycles and intercepted the van in which they were traveling.
“We have had official knowledge that the kidnapping (…) was perpetrated by a unit belonging to the ELN,” the government delegation at the Roundtable for dialogue with the ELN said in a statement.
“We demand that the ELN immediately release Mr. Luis Manuel Díaz, and we remind him that it is his entire responsibility to guarantee his life and integrity,” he added.
The government delegation assured that the kidnapping is a violation of International Humanitarian Law and that in the midst of the current peace process it should not be committed by the group.
Díaz, 26 years old and who has played 43 times with the Colombian national team, was signed by Liverpool in January of last year in a multimillion-dollar deal and is one of the figures of the English team.
The winger has scored three goals for Liverpool in all competitions this season and due to the kidnapping last weekend he was excluded from the team that defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League.
Keep reading:
Colombian Ombudsman offers its help to facilitate the release of Luis Díaz’s father
Luis Díaz will not travel to Colombia after the kidnapping of his father for “security”
250 agents search for Luis Díaz’s father in Colombia, preventing him from being transferred to Venezuela