Father of Liverpool player released by abductors

After Colombian authorities verified the release, the father of Liverpool football player Luis Díaz was let free by his captors.

Luis Manuel Diaz will initially be sent to the Colombian city of Valledupar, according to radio station LA FM. After that, he will be returned to Barrancas, Diaz’s hometown, where he and his spouse were initially kidnapped last month.

It was verified this week that Diaz Sr. was abducted from a petrol station in Barrancas on 28 October by the terrorist organisation Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN), based in Colombia. In the same incident, Diaz’s mother Cilenis Marulanda was also kidnapped; however, she was saved the next day, leaving her partner behind.

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However, the two are going to be reunited more than a week after the Colombian military launched a “major search” for Diaz’s father. That is, if local accounts of recent events in Venezuela and Colombia are to be trusted.

Since their involvement in the kidnapping was discovered, the ELN has maintained communication with the authorities. This includes correspondence with Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, albeit there was a momentary concern that a communication breakdown would have ruined all hopes of retrieval.

After Diaz made an emotional comeback to Liverpool’s team over the weekend, there have been developments regarding a release. The winger revealed a sign on his undershirt that said, “Libertad Para Papa (Freedom for Papa),” as he came off the bench to score a much-needed level at Luton Town.