Footballer Luis Díaz has begged his father's kidnappers to free him immediately and "end this painful wait". Both parents of Colombian-born Diaz were kidnapped at gunpoint in his hometown of Barrancas by left-wing guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) on October 28, as reported by the BBC. Díaz plays football for Liverpool. His mother was found, but his father is still missing.
On Sunday, Díaz lifted his shirt to reveal the words in Spanish "freedom for papa” after he scored a goal against Luton. "Every second, every minute, our anxiety grows," Díaz, 26, said in a statement released after the match in England's Premier League, as quoted by the BBC.
"My mother, my brothers, and I are desperate and anxious and have no words to describe what we are feeling. This suffering will only end when we have him home with us. I beg that they free him immediately, respecting his integrity and ending this painful wait. In the name of love and compassion, we ask they reconsider their actions and allow us to have him back," Diaz said.
The footballer also thanked "the Colombians and the international community for extending all their support to him. Hundreds of police personnel and soldiers have been deployed by the Colombian government to free the footballer's father, Luis Manuel Díaz. On the day of the incident, CCTV footage revealed that the car Díaz's parents were driving was being followed by men on motorbikes, the BBC reported. The couple was accosted by the gunmen as they had stopped at a petrol station in Barrancas, in the northern province of La Guajira.
Later, as the police approached, the kidnappers abandoned Luis Díaz's mother in a car but dragged away his father, as per the BBC. Initially, the police blamed a criminal gang.
But a government delegation, currently engaged in peace talks with the rebel group, later said that it had "official knowledge" that the kidnapping had been carried out by "a unit belonging to the ELN," as reported by the BBC. A representative of the group has reportedly stated that Díaz's father will be released in the coming days. The ELN is Colombia's main remaining active guerrilla group, with around 2,500 members.