Luis Díaz, the Colombian-born Liverpool footballer, has made a heartfelt plea for his father's kidnappers to release him immediately and put an end to this agonizing wait. Both of Díaz's parents were abducted at gunpoint in his hometown of Barrancas by left-wing guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) on October 28. While his mother has been located, his father remains missing.
Díaz scored a goal against Luton on Sunday, lifting his shirt to reveal the words in Spanish “freedom for papa”.
“Every second, every minute our anxiety grows,” Díaz, 26, said in a statement released shortly after the match in England’s Premier League.
“My mother, my brothers and I are desperate, anxious and have no words to describe what we are feeling. This suffering will only end when we have him home with us.
“I beg that they free him immediately, respecting his integrity and ending this painful wait. In the name of love and compassion we ask they reconsider their actions and allow us to have him back.”
Did you read this?
Díaz also thanked “the Colombians and the international community for the support that’s been received, [and the] many demonstrations of care and solidarity in this difficult moment”.
The Colombian government has dispatched hundreds of police officers and soldiers to secure the release of the footballer's father, Luis Manuel Díaz.
Surveillance footage from the day of the kidnapping revealed that the vehicle carrying Díaz's parents was being trailed by individuals on motorcycles.
The attack on the couple occurred while they were at a gas station in Barrancas, located in the northern province of La Guajira.
The kidnappers eventually left Luis Díaz's mother behind in a vehicle as the police closed in, but they forcibly took away his father.
Initially, the police had suggested that a criminal gang was likely responsible for the abduction.
But a government delegation – which is currently engaged in peace talks with the rebel group – late said that it had “official knowledge” that the kidnapping had been carried out by “a unit belonging to the ELN”.
A spokesperson for the group has allegedly stated that they plan to release Díaz’s father in the upcoming days.
The ELN is currently the primary active guerrilla group in Colombia. Engaged in conflict with the state since 1964, it is estimated to have around 2,500 members.
The group is particularly active in the border area with Venezuela, which is also where Luis Manuel Díaz and his wife Cilenis Marulanda reside.
