Manuel Diaz, father of Luis Diaz will reportedly be released ‘within hours’ as talks continue between the Colombian Government and his captors, the National Liberation Army (ELN).
The Government revealed on Thursday that the ELN had been responsible for the kidnap of both Diaz’s parents last weekend.
Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported authorities have been promised by the ELN that Diaz’s father will be released within hours.
Members of the ELN group have reportedly confirmed to the Colombian magazine Semana that they were unaware members of the organisation had kidnapped Diaz’s parents.
The group are believed to have provided assurances they will demand Manuel Diaz release.
Diaz’s father Luis Manuel and mother Cilenis Marulanda were kidnapped in Colombia last week and the 26-year-old footballer has since remained in England for ‘security reasons’
Diaz’s mother Cilenis Marulanda was released a few hours after the kidnap on October 28, but his father has remained missing five days later.
Otty Patino, who is representing the Government in the talks, confirmed they had been informed the ELN were responsible for the abduction.
In a statement Patino called for the release of Diaz’s father.
‘Today we have officially learned that the kidnapping carried out on October 28, in Barrancas, department of La Guajira, of which Luis Manuel Díaz and Cilenis Marulanda, father and mother of the soccer player Luis Fernando, were victims Díaz Marulanda, was perpetrated by a unit belonging to the ELN,’ the statement read.
‘Although Mrs. Marulanda was released a few hours later, the player’s father has remained with his abductors for five days.
‘As a delegation of the National Government for peace talks with the ELN, we express all our solidarity with Luis Díaz, his family, with the entire country and with the millions of followers of the player in the world.
‘We demand that the ELN immediately release Mr. Luis Manuel Diaz, and we remind him that it is his entire responsibility to guarantee his life and integrity.
‘We remind the ELN that kidnapping is a criminal practice, violative of International Humanitarian Law, and that it is its duty in the development of the current peace process, not only to stop carrying it out, but also to eliminate it forever.
‘As part of the development of the agreement on the Ceasefire, our delegation will present this case to the current Monitoring and Verification Mechanism, and will carry out all necessary actions to achieve the immediate release and with guarantee of the life and integrity of Mr. Díaz.’
Diaz’s parents were snatched off the streets of Colombia by four armed men on motorcycles last week.
The Liverpool star was informed of the ordeal shortly before his side’s 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Sunday.
Although his mother Cilenis Marulanda was later freed, the whereabouts of his father Luis Manuel is still unknown.
Colombia’s police and military forces have been working together in a bid to bring him home safely.
Diaz took to social media on Tuesday to urge people to join a march to demand the safe release of his father.
Colombian Government’s statement on Luis Diaz’s father
The delegation of the National Government at the Peace Dialogue Table with the National Liberation Army, ELN, informs public opinion that:
1. Today we have officially learned that the abduction carried out on October 28, in Barrancas, department of La Guajira, of which Luis Manuel Díaz and Cilenis Marulanda, father and mother of the soccer player Luis Fernando, were victims Díaz Marulanda, was perpetrated by a unit belonging to the ELN.
Although Mrs. Marulanda was released a few hours later, the player’s father has been kidnapped for five days.
2. As a delegation of the National Government for peace talks with the ELN, we express all our solidarity with Luis Díaz, his family, with the entire country and with the millions of followers of the player in the world.
3. We demand that the ELN immediately release Mr. Luis Manuel Diaz, and we remind him that it is his entire responsibility to guarantee his life and integrity.
4. We remind the ELN that kidnapping is a criminal practice, violative of International Humanitarian Law, and that it is its duty in the development of the current peace process, not only to stop carrying it out, but also to eliminate it forever.
5. As part of the development of the agreement on the Ceasefire, our delegation will present this case to the current Monitoring and Verification Mechanism, and will carry out all necessary actions to achieve the immediate release and with guarantee of the life and integrity of Mr. Díaz.
The Instagram post invited the ‘whole community’ and urged them to ‘bring your candle to light the light of hope’, with the picture of his father accompanied by a caption which read: ‘Free him now’.
Hundreds of people joined his mother Cilenis and grandfather Alfonso on Tuesday evening as they took to the streets of Barrancas to call for an end to the kidnapping.
It emerged earlier this week that police have identified two of the four men involved in the kidnapping.
More details of the kidnapping emerged on Wednesday as Colombian outlet Semana reported that Diaz’s parents were buying watermelons when they were taken by the four armed men.
A reward of 200 million Colombian pesos [approximately £40,000] has been offered by the authorities for information since the release of Diaz’s mother.
