Luis Diaz: Colombian guerrilla group says it will release Liverpool player’s father ‘as soon as possible’

Barrancas, Colombia
CNN
—

A representative of the Colombian National Liberation Army (ELN), a Colombian rebel group, said on Thursday that they have the Liverpool FC star. Luis Diaz The father is imprisoned and will be released “as soon as possible.”

It was Luis Manuel Díaz and his wife Selenis Marulanda Kidnapped by gunmen On motorcycles at a gas station in Barrancas, the family’s hometown, on Saturday.

Marulanda was later rescued, but Diaz Sr. remains missing, with a major police and military search ongoing.

in the video Published on XTwitter Previously, to Colombian journalist Santiago Angel, ELN delegate Juan Carlos Cuellar admitted that the rebel group was holding Díaz Sr. captive.

“We call on the National Liberation Army to immediately release Mr. Luis Manuel Díaz, and we remind them that it is entirely their responsibility to ensure his life and safety,” said a statement issued on Thursday by the Colombian government delegation to the peace table with the rebels. group.

“We remind the ELN that kidnapping is a criminal practice that violates international humanitarian law, and that it is their duty in developing the current peace process not only to stop this practice, but also to eliminate it forever.” Oti Patiño, head of the government negotiating team, said.

Gabe Diaz, Luis Diaz’s brother, told CNN that the family had not made official statements to the press based on instructions from authorities, but that they would hold a press conference later.

Barrancas, Diaz’s hometown in northern Colombia, had never been subject to such guarding before.

Since last Saturday, when news of the kidnapping of the parents of the Colombian national team star spread, residents of this town with a population of about 40,000 have seen dozens of army and police vehicles driving around.

“This is something new for our people, seeing helicopters landing and taking off (…) The truth is that it is new and sad for us at the same time because this has always been a good land,” said Christian Almenares, a resident of Barrancas. He told CNN en Español on Thursday.

The city’s largest soccer field, donated by Diaz, serves as an improvised helipad for official planes to land and take off.

Around him, children and adults gather to witness the movement of more than 230 police and military men carrying out the search and rescue operation for Diaz Sr.

In this modest and so far quiet town, located in the La Guajira region of northern Colombia, the most prepared local police are gathered: jungle commandos, trained in rescue, said Colombian Police Director General William Rene Salamanca. In inhospitable terrain, the organization’s most prepared intelligence officers and experts.

“We also have the best judicial policemen, analysts, cartographers, men who evaluate any information, forensic photographers, and experts in photos and videos to analyze the location of the kidnapping and carry out tracing missions,” Salamanca added.

Meanwhile, outside the Diaz family home, there is a constant procession of relatives and close friends wearing white T-shirts printed with Diaz Sr.’s photo, coming to show their solidarity.

On the front of the house, in front of him, there are banners and posters bearing his face and messages demanding his release.

Barrancas citizens have rejected the kidnapping, which they say tarnishes the image of their city.

“It is inexcusable, in the midst of negotiations, for the ELN to do this to this humble family that is trying to advance,” said Guillermo Acuña, a young man from Barranco who claims to have been a student of Díaz Sr. His football school.

Acuña refers to a statement published earlier on Thursday by the Colombian government delegation participating in peace talks with the ELN, which accused the group of keeping Diaz’s father in captivity.

Gaby Diaz thanked the media and the citizens of Barrancas for their interest in knowing the fate of his father.

Meanwhile, journalists, photographers and photographers from local and foreign media remain on standby outside the Diaz family home, waiting for some reaction or news about the release of the Liverpool FC star’s father.