Colombia’s authorities says the armed insurgent group the National Liberation Army, often called ELN, was answerable for the weekend kidnapping of the daddy of Liverpool and Colombian nationwide soccer group striker Luis Diaz.
The peace delegation of the federal government, which is at the moment in negotiations with ELN, stated in an announcement on Thursday that it was “formally conscious” that the kidnapping had been “perpetrated by a unit that belongs to ELN”.
“We demand that the ELN releases instantly Mr Luis Manuel Diaz and we are saying as of now that they’re fully accountable to safe his life and integrity,” stated Otty Patino, who leads the peace delegation.
Each dad and mom of Liverpool’s Díaz were kidnapped by armed males on bikes on Saturday at a petroleum station within the small city of Barrancas. The footballer’s mom, Cilenis Marulanda, was rescued inside hours by police who arrange roadblocks across the city of 40,000 individuals, which is close to Colombia’s border with Venezuela.
Diaz’s father remained lacking, which triggered particular forces to seek for him in a mountain vary that straddles each international locations and is roofed by cloud forest. Police additionally supplied a $48,000 reward for data resulting in Diaz’s father.
ELN consultant Juan Carlos Cuellar reportedly stated the group will free Diaz’s father “as quickly as potential” in a video clip shared by the ELN with the Reuters information company.
The ELN, Colombia’s largest remaining armed insurgent group, has lengthy funded its operations with kidnapping, in addition to extortion and drug trafficking, in accordance with safety sources. A six-month ceasefire between the left-wing insurgent group and the federal government got here into drive in August.
Diaz is likely one of the most proficient gamers on Colombia’s nationwide group and at the moment performs for Liverpool within the English Premier League, which he joined final 12 months in a deal price $67m.
The 26-year-old striker missed Liverpool’s match in opposition to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Diaz’s teammates expressed their solidarity with the Colombian by holding up one in all his jerseys on the pitch after scoring the group’s first aim of their 3-0 victory.