Last weekend, Luis Diaz, currently playing for Liverpool, received terrible news. His parents had been kidnapped in his native Colombia. They were visibly stopped at a service station near Barrancas when they were approached by men on motorcycles in possession of weapons. The news shocked the entire footballing world, which was quick to lend its support to the 26-year-old. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, his compatriots Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez, and his Reds team-mates Diogo Jota and Alexis MacAllister all posted messages of support.
While the player’s mother was quickly released, Luis Manuel Diaz remains unaccounted for. However, the Colombian government released new information in a statement on Thursday. “Today we officially know that the kidnapping was carried out by a unit belonging to the ELN”, the last guerrilla group still active in Colombia. Meanwhile, Otty Patiño, the government’s official negotiator with the continent’s largest rebel group, reminded the ELN “that it is their full responsibility to guarantee his life”, also calling for his “immediate release”. In the meantime, large forces have been deployed to find the 26-year-old Colombian’s father…
