It’s a huge sigh of relief. A few days after the announcement of the release of his father, kidnapped by a guerrilla, Colombian striker Luis Diaz was finally able to see him again during the rally with his national team. Coming from England, the Liverpool striker joined the Colombian national team’s training camp in Barranquilla (north) on Tuesday and fell, in tears, into the arms of his father, according to images broadcast by the Colombian Football Federation (FCF).
Aged 56, Luis Manuel Diaz was released Thursday morning in a mountainous area in the north of the country by the National Liberation Army (ELN), the last guerrilla force still active in the country which had kidnapped him on October 28 along with his wife released a few hours later. The amateur football coach who revealed his son wore a black T-shirt with the inscription “Never again kidnapping”.
Colombian police announced on Saturday the arrest of four people suspected of having participated in the kidnapping which jeopardized the peace process begun almost a year ago between the ELN and the government, as well as the ceasefire. the six-month bilateral fire in force since August 3. The military commander of the ELN, Antonio Garcia, himself admitted a “mistake”. In six decades of civil conflict, Colombia has recorded some 38,000 kidnappings, mainly by armed groups who finance their operations with ransom money and drug trafficking, Colombia being the leading producer of cocaine in the world.
In this particularly moving context, Luis Diaz scored the equalizing goal in the last minute against Luton and celebrated by lifting his jersey with a message “Freedom for my father”. Now free, the Colombian striker could send him a new message against Brazil this Thursday during the 5th day of South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
