Parents of Liverpool’s Díaz kidnapped in Colombia; mother rescued

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Saturday that the mother of Colombian and Liverpool player Luis Díaz had been rescued after being kidnapped in northern Colombia, but that authorities were still searching for his missing father.

Colombia’s attorney general’s office said earlier that it had assembled a team of investigators to search for the couple in Barrancas, a municipality in Colombia’s northern La Guajira province.

National police confirmed the rescue of Díaz’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, and said they spoke with director William Rene Salamanca. In a video, Salamanca said he was using every agent to find Diaz’s father.

The parents of Díaz, 26, were allegedly kidnapped while driving home. Armed men on motorcycles stopped them and chased them into the vehicle, authorities said.

The Colombian football federation said in a statement that the kidnapping was regrettable and urged authorities to rescue the father.

Díaz, who played 43 times for Colombia, has not commented on the incident.

Premier League club Liverpool signed winger Díaz from Portuguese club Porto in a multi-million dollar deal in January 2022. He has scored 14 goals in 58 appearances for the Premier League giants.

Liverpool are next in action on Sunday against Nottingham Forest.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.