Díaz’s father freed by ELN after 12 days hostage in Colombia

The Colombian government confirmed Thursday that the father of Liverpool striker Luis Díaz had been released, 12 days after he was kidnapped in northern Colombia by members of the guerrilla National Liberation Army, or ELN.

The release of members of the National Liberation Army, or ELN – which called the kidnapping a mistake – was announced by the government delegation currently holding peace negotiations with the guerrillas.

Díaz started and played 81 minutes in Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat to Toulouse, hours after his father was freed by kidnappers. Before the match, manager Jurgen Klopp said the striker was “really happy” with the news of his father’s release.

“It looks like Lucho [Diaz] is really happy, [giving] Well done all the time,” Klopp told TNT Sports. “In terms of timing, it couldn’t have been better.”

The October 28 kidnapping of Luis Manuel Díaz in his hometown of Barrancas quickly attracted international attention and sparked calls for his release. On Sunday, young Diaz pleaded for his father’s freedom after scoring for Liverpool in a Premier League soccer match, revealing a T-shirt saying “Freedom for Dad” in Spanish.

The elder Díaz, dressed in a green shirt and baseball cap, greeted well-wishers on Thursday as he returned to his hometown in the La Guajira region, escorted by authorities. He spoke emotionally to his neighbors through a megaphone.

“Thank God for this second opportunity to bring me home, and thank you to all the people of Barrancas, La Guajira and Colombia for the immense support they have given my family,” he said declared.

It was initially unclear who carried out the kidnapping. But the Colombian government announced last week that it had information that Díaz had been kidnapped by an ELN unit. The ELN later admitted to the kidnapping, saying it was a mistake and that the group’s top leaders had ordered the elder Díaz’s release.

An ELN statement on Sunday said the planned release had been hampered by military deployments in northern Colombia and that it could not guarantee a safe release under the circumstances. The Colombian army announced Monday that it was changing its position to facilitate his release.

Both of Díaz’s parents from Liverpool had been kidnapped by gunmen on motorbikes at a petrol station in Barrancas. But the footballer’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was rescued within hours by police who set up roadblocks around this town of 40,000 inhabitants, located near the border between Colombia and Venezuela.

After the kidnapping, special forces were deployed to the area to search for Diaz’s father in a mountain range straddling the two countries and covered by a cloud forest. Police also offered a $48,000 reward for information leading to him.

The United Nations and the Catholic Church helped facilitate the transfer of power, and their representatives received Díaz’s father in the Serranía del Perijá area on Thursday, where he received primary medical care.

He was then taken by helicopter to Valledupar, a community about 90 kilometers from Barrancas, his hometown in the northeast of the country. His neighbors in Barrancas greeted him with music and cheers while police guarded the family home.

“Mane is a man with a very humble heart, a man who fought to raise his children,” said Barrancas resident Mayulis Lindo Redondo, using the elder Díaz’s nickname.

The 26-year-old striker is one of the most talented players on the Colombian national team. He joined Liverpool for a reported $67 million.

The Colombian national team and Liverpool celebrated on social networks the release of Díaz’s father.