The National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla organisation kidnapped the father of Liverpool football player Luis Diaz in Colombia, and he was released after 13 days.
The Colombian military, the UN, and the Catholic Church conducted an operation that resulted in Luis Manuel Diaz’s release from the ELN, the government said on Thursday.
The kidnapping
Luis Manuel Díaz’s kidnapping on Oct. 28 from his hometown of Barrancas had quickly drawn international attention and appeals for his release.
On Sunday, the younger Diaz pleaded for his father’s freedom after scoring for Liverpool in a Premier League soccer match, revealing a T-shirt saying ‘Freedom for Papa’ in Spanish.
The release by members of the National Liberation Army, or ELN — which has called the kidnapping a mistake — was announced by the government delegation that currently is in peace negotiations with the guerrilla group.
The official statement
‘We are happy to announce Luis Manuel Díaz’s release,’ a government peace mission declared.
‘He made it back to his family and his community safely.’
On Thursday, Diaz was flown by helicopter to the neighbouring city of Valledupar from his captivity in the Serrania de Perija mountain range near the Venezuelan border.
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The Colombian Football Federation (FCF) released a statement on Thursday morning that thanked the authorities involved with the rescue.
The statement read: ‘The Colombian Football Federation thanks the National Government, the Military and National Police Forces, as well as all the institutions and officials who made possible the release of Luis Manuel Diaz, father of our player Luis Diaz.
‘Football as a sporting discipline symbolizes the talent, dedication, teamwork and intrinsic values of the human being. In Colombia, it must continue to be a reference of entertainment, healthy competition, union and joy.
‘Therefore, we insist on the need to maintain this activity, as well as those involved in it, in the sports, administrative part and their families, regardless of any scenario other than sports.
‘Behind a ball, the dreams and illusions of children, young people, women, men and adults, their relatives and a whole country roll.
‘Football is a passion in peace, let no one ever think of it, attack that reality again.’
The United Nations and the Catholic Church helped facilitate the handover, and their representatives received Diaz’s father Thursday in the area of the mountain range Serranía del Perijá, where he received primary medical care.
The release
He was then taken by helicopter to Valledupar, a community about 56 miles (90 kilometers) from Barrancas, his native town in the northeastern part of the country.
His neighbors in Barrancas welcomed him with music and cheers while police guarded his family’s home.
‘Mane is a man with a very humble heart, a man who has fought to raise his children,’ Barrancas resident Mayulis Lindo Redondo said, using the elder Diaz’s nickname.
