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Luis Díaz’s father was released by a Colombian guerrilla group.
CNN –
The father of Liverpool soccer star Luis Díaz, who was kidnapped by a Colombian guerrilla group last month, was released on Thursday and handed over to United Nations and Catholic Church officials in Valledupar, Colombia. according to the Colombian Bishops’ Conference.
“We thank God for the release of Mr. Luis Díaz!” The conference was published on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“He already has Mons. Francisco Ceballos, Bishop of Riohacha, and Msgr. Héctor Henao, delegate for church-state relations, who formed the humanitarian commission responsible for facilitating his release.”
Luis Manuel Díaz and his wife Cilenis Marulanda were kidnapped on October 28 by National Liberation Army (ELN) gunmen on motorcycles at a gas station in Barrancas, the family’s hometown in northern Colombia.
Marulanda was rescued later the same day, but a major police and military search operation was underway to find Díaz Sr.
Díaz played and scored for Liverpool on Sunday and pleaded for his father’s release after the Premier League game against Luton Town.
On Tuesday, the ELN said that Colombian military operations did not allow Díaz Sr.’s release. The guerrilla group said in a statement that it was trying to “avoid incidents with official forces,” referring to the presence of military troops in an unknown area.
Both the Colombian government’s peace delegation and the ELN welcomed the release of the footballer’s father.
In a statement on Thursday, the delegation thanked the police and military, as well as the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia and the Bishops’ Conference for their help in Díaz Sr.’s release.
“We hope that he will soon find peace again, changed by an act that should never have happened,” the delegation said in a statement.
In addition, the Colombian Football Federation thanked all the forces “that made possible the release of Luis Manuel Díaz, the father of our player Luis Díaz”.
This is a developing story and will be updated.