The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, in a file photo.Jeffrey Arguedas (EFE)
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Friday indicted the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas for the kidnapping of soccer player Luis Díaz’s father, Manuel “Mane” Díaz. “The ELN is now responsible for the life of Luis Díaz’s father. He has committed an act that runs counter to the peace process itself,” he said from Washington (USA), where he had arrived a few hours earlier for a meeting of the continent’s heads of state and government.
In his first statement on the plagiarism, Petro expressed to several media outlets his “deepest rejection” of the kidnapping and called on the guerrilla commanders with whom he has a negotiating table to reach an agreement “immediately and profoundly” to make it a reality They have expressed that they intend to release the footballer’s father “as soon as possible”. He assured that this was fundamental “to build confidence in the possibilities of peace in Colombia”.
The ELN is now responsible for the life of Luis Díaz’s father. “I must express my deepest rejection, not only for kidnapping Luis’ father, but also for failing to free him as events unfolded.” @petrogustavo pic.twitter.com/j7tXIgHmXh
– ÚltimaHoraCaracol (@UltimaHoraCR) November 3, 2023
Mane Díaz and his wife were kidnapped last Saturday when a group of armed men approached them at a gas station in Barrancas – a town in La Guajira – and took them away. The footballer’s mother was released the same day, despite this crime being strongly condemned at national and international levels. However, the father has been without freedom for almost a week now, and since this Thursday the government has accused the ELN of being responsible. This Friday, Petro warned that “over time, the circumstances in which Mr. Díaz is found will become very dangerous,” who, according to Defense Minister Iván Velásquez, would be in the Serranía del Perijá, a foothills of the Andes Mountains, the Colombia and the share neighboring Venezuela.
In the last 24 hours, the kidnapping has become a state matter. The kidnapping and hostage-taking situation comes amid parallel negotiations between the government and the various armed groups still active in the country, within the framework of the total peace policy, one of the government’s most emblematic and ambitious projects. Peter.
On Wednesday evening, Velásquez told the president that the ELN, the largest and oldest group involved in these discussions, was responsible for the crime. These negotiations – the most advanced of all – achieved the first major success of a ceasefire, which has been in force since August and runs until February. The kidnapping puts a strain on this agreement and negotiations in general, which is why the head of the government delegation at the negotiating table, Otty Patiño, traveled to Cuba since Wednesday to meet with these guerrilla negotiators. In the following hours, a crisis cabinet was formed in the Nariño Palace, which released a statement in which the armed group called for the immediate release of Mane Díaz. However, the government has not yet managed to reclaim it.
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