The kidnappers of Manuel Diaz, who is the father of Liverpool winger, Luis Diaz, have made a demand from the Colombian government in the form of a deal to release the football player’s father.
Recall that the ELN guerrilla organization had abducted Diaz’s father nine days ago and has since slowed down on their initial promise of releasing him.
In a statement, however, signed by Commander Jose Manuel Martinez Quiroz, one of the group’s unit leaders, the guerrilla group has requested the suspension of security operations to prevent any further delays.
The statement reads: “On November 2, we informed the country of the decision to release Mr. Luis Manuel Díaz, father of the player Luis Díaz. From that date, we began the process to accomplish this as soon as possible. We are making efforts to avoid incidents with government forces.
“The area is still militarized, they are carrying out flyovers, disembarking troops, broadcasting and offering rewards as part of an intense search operation. This situation is not allowing for the execution of the release plan quickly and safely, where Mr Luis Manuel Díaz is not at risk.
“If operations continue in the area, they will delay the release and increase the risks. We understand the anguish of the Díaz Marulanda family, to whom we say that we will keep our word to release him unilaterally, as soon as we have security guarantees for the development of the liberation operation.”