Kidnappers have abducted the parent of Liverpool’s Colombian winger Luis Diaz, with his mother already rescued by the police but the search for his father continues, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced.
According to President Petro, who posted on X, Diaz’s mother was rescued in Barrancas in the northern part of the country.
“We continue in the search for the father,” he added.
Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office in a statement said that they had been working intensely on the case.
“From the moment the Attorney General’s Office learned of the kidnapping of the parents of the Colombian player Luis Díaz, in the Barrancas sector of La Guajira, a specialised team of prosecutors, police and military personnel have been working to find “the location of these people, clarify the facts and find those responsible”, the office said on X.
It was gathered that Luis Manuel Diaz and Cilenis Marulanda were at a service station in La Guajira area when armed men on motorbikes forcefully abducted them.
General William Salamanca, a police director said he deployed intelligence agents and other police departments in the area to deal with the case.
The police are “already involved, right now, in carrying out checkpoints, identifying people on motorbikes, private public service vehicles … for the recovery of the two kidnapped people, the father and mother of the footballer Luis Diaz”, Salamanca told Colombian media earlier on Saturday.
Governor of La Guajira, Diala Wilches while condemning the abduction, appealed for their return.
“To the kidnappers, we demand that they return them immediately, safe and sound,” she said.
Liverpool Football Club in its reaction expressed concern and said it was supporting Diaz.
“It is our fervent hope that the matter is resolved safely and at the earliest possible opportunity. In the meantime, the player’s welfare will continue to be our immediate priority.”
