Luis Diaz for Liverpool (Credit: Twitter)
“The retention of Luis Diaz’s father by the Northern War Front was a mistake,” ELN commander Antonio Garcia, wrote on his Telegram channel.
The head of Colombia’s ELN guerilla group on Saturday acknowledged the group made a “mistake” when it kidnapped the daddy of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz final week, and vowed to work towards his launch.
Diaz’s dad and mom have been kidnapped of their hometown of Barrancas close to the Venezuelan border final Saturday, however his mom was rescued hours later.
Authorities have blamed the kidnapping on an ELN unit and have launched an enormous seek for Diaz’s father, Luis Manuel Diaz.
“The retention of Luis Diaz’s father by the Northern War Front was a mistake,” ELN commander Antonio Garcia, wrote on his Telegram channel.
BREAKING:ELN, the organisation which orchestrated the kidnappings, has promised to launch Luis Díaz’s father within the coming hours.
The nightmare is coming to an finish Lucho ❤️
[@ELTIEMPO] pic.twitter.com/kRqYcgLhOH
— Watch LFC (@Watch_LFC) November 2, 2023
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“Lucho is a symbol of Colombia — that is how we in the ELN feel about him,” he added, utilizing the nickname of the 26-12 months-outdated Diaz, who has made 11 appearances this season for Liverpool and scored three targets.
The incident has threatened to derail excessive-stakes peace negotiations between the insurgent group and leftist President Gustavo Petro, happening amid a six-month ceasefire.
On Wednesday, the ELN peace negotiators acknowledged to their authorities counterparts that the Northern War Front was holding Diaz’s father.
In his Telegram publish on Saturday, Garcia stated that ELN’s central command was overseeing efforts to set the footballer’s father free and had instructed its models to cooperate.
“We hope that the operational situation on the ground can be resolved, this is the guidance that the commanders have to expedite the release,” Garcia stated.
Local media have revealed an announcement purportedly from the Northern War Front, by which the rebels clarify that they had kidnapped Diaz’s father for ransom and didn’t notice he was the daddy of the nation’s soccer star.
The assertion couldn’t be independently verified.
Two associates of Diaz’s father have composed a track calling for his launch.
“Enough of the kidnappings in Colombia,” one of many two males, Libardo Brito stated.
READ: Kidnapping of Liverpool Footballer Luis Diaz’s Father Stuns Colombian Police. What We Know?
More than 38,000 folks have been kidnapped in Colombia through the years, primarily by teams elevating funds with ransom cash.
The ELN, considered one of Colombia’s final acknowledged guerrilla teams, began as a leftist ideological motion in 1964 earlier than turning to crime — specializing in kidnapping, extortion, violent assaults and drug trafficking.
More than 240 folks have been detained in simply the primary 9 months of this 12 months by unlawful teams within the nation, 70 p.c greater than throughout the identical interval final 12 months, in response to knowledge from the protection ministry.
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – AFP)
