Scorer yesterday against Luton (1-1), Luis Diaz (26) allowed Liverpool to snatch a valuable draw. The Colombian winger is nevertheless going through complicated times on a personal level since his parents were kidnapped by the ELN. If his mother has since been released, concern remains around his father Luis Manuel Diaz. “It’s not the player who speaks. Today it is Lucho Díaz, the son of Luís Manuel Díaz. Mane, my father, hard worker, pillar of the family… He is now kidnapped. I ask the ELN to release my father as soon as possible. I also ask international associations to work to guarantee his freedom. Every second, every minute, we are more worried.”
“We have no words to describe our family’s terrible feelings, and it will be the same until he comes home. I beg you to release my father immediately, respecting his integrity. I would like to thank all Colombians and the international community for their support” the player also said after the meeting. Words listened to by the kidnappers who admit to having made a mistake and promise to release Luis Manuel Diaz soon. In any case, this is what the ELN declared in a press release: “On November 2, we informed the country of the decision to release Mr. Luis Manuel Díaz, father of the player Luis Díaz. From this date, we have taken steps to achieve this as quickly as possible. We are making efforts to avoid incidents with government forces. The area is still militarized, they are conducting flyovers, landing troops, broadcasting and offering rewards as part of an intense search operation. This situation does not allow the release plan to be carried out quickly and safely, where Luis Manuel Díaz does not run any risk. If operations continue in the area, they will delay the release and increase risks. We understand the anguish of the Díaz Marulanda family, to whom we say that we will keep our word to release him unilaterally, as soon as we have security guarantees for the development of the liberation operation.”
