COLOMBIA
Luis Díaz’s father kidnapped by ELN, confirms Colombian government
The father of the Colombia international is being held hostage in Guajira by ELN guerrillas.
Five days after the kidnapping of Luis Manuel Díaz, father of Liverpool player Luis Fernando Díaz, it has been confirmed that the perpetrators of the kidnapping were National Liberation Army guerrillas (ELN).
The parents of Díaz were kidnapped on Saturday 28 October in Barrancas, La Guajira. A few hours after the kidnapping, the player’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was rescued by authorities.
The National Police, with the authorization of the Ministry of Defence, announced that there would be a reward of up to 200 million pesos for anyone with information leading to the whereabouts of Luis Manuel Díaz. “On the instruction of the Minister of National Defence, a reward of up to 200 million pesos has been established for anyone who provides information leading to the whereabouts of the father of Luis Díaz,” stated General William René Salamanca Ramírez, head of the Colombian National Police.
Statement from government on Luis Díaz’s father
The government statement read as follows:
1. Today we have official knowledge that the kidnapping of Luis Manuel Díaz and Cilenis Marulanda, father and mother of the football player Luis Fernando Díaz Marulanda, on October 28 in Barrancas, department of La Guajira, was perpetrated by a unit belonging to the ELN.
2. As the delegation of the National Government for the peace talks with the ELN, we express our full solidarity with Luis Díaz, his family, the whole country and with the player’s millions of supporters around the world.
3. We demand the ELN to immediately release Mr. Luis Manuel Diaz, and we remind them that it is their entire responsibility to guarantee his life and integrity.
4. We remind the ELN that kidnapping is a criminal practice, in violation of International Humanitarian Law, and that it is their 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 ceasefire agreement, our delegation will take all the necessary action to achieve the immediate release of Mr. Díaz, with guarantees for his life and integrity.