Luis Manuel Díaz, father of soccer player Luis Díaz, completed a week this Saturday since he was kidnapped in the municipality of Barrancas, La Guajira, where he usually goes home for the weekend with his wife, Cilenis Marulanda.
Initially, it was thought that it was a kidnapping carried out by a common criminal gang. However, last Thursday, November 2, the National Liberation Army, ELN, confirmed that the Northern War Front had “Mane” Díaz, father of the Liverpool player, in its possession.
Initially, the retention had economic purposes. However, when they realized that it was the footballer’s father, they proceeded to announce his release without any demands.
“The Northern War Front has commands with economic missions and one of them carried out a deprivation of liberty, which when it was reported and verified that it was Lucho Díaz’s father, his release was directed because he was a relative of the great athlete that we want. all Colombians”, the statement reads.
Despite the criticism, the insurgent guerrilla organization announced on the night of Friday, November 3, that the process of releasing Luis Manuel Díaz is being “expedited,” but did not provide concrete details. Therefore, the date, time and place of delivery is unknown.
One of the leaders of this organization, Eliécer Herlinto Chamorro Acosta, alias Antonio García, issued a statement through the Telegram messaging application, in which he admitted that kidnapping the footballer’s father was a “mistake.”
“The retention of Luis Díaz’s father by the Northern War front was a mistake. “Luis is a symbol of Colombia and we feel him as such in the ELN,” Garcia explained.
Although the organization admitted to having Luis Manuel Díaz in its possession, the Military Forces have not stopped their operations in the Serranía del Perijá, where it is presumed that he could be.