Who are Luis Diaz’s parents?
A MAJOR military and police search has been launched following the kidnapping of Luis Diaz’s parents.
Here we take a look at what happened to the Liverpool player’s mother and father in October 2023.
Who are Luis Diaz’s parents?
Liverpool and Colombia star Luis Diaz was born on January 13, 1997, to parents Luis Manuel Díaz and Cilenis Marulanda.
Unlike their son, Luis and Cilenis appear to prefer to keep their personal life private, with not much information known about the pair.
What happened to Luis Diaz’s parents?
In October 2023, it was reported that Luis Diaz’s parents were kidnapped by armed gunmen in Colombia.
On Saturday, October, 28, 2023, Diaz’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda and his father Luis Manuel Díaz, were taken at a gas station in their home town of Barrancas, La Guajira, in the country’s northern region.
Following the kidnapping, the police and military were immediately mobilised as a full scale operation to recover the pair was put in place.
Cilenis Marulanda was later found and rescued in Barrancas on Saturday.
However, the player’s father is yet to have been found.
Victor Medina, who has been described as the best friend of Luis Manuel Diaz, told a Colombian radio station: ”It was 5.30pm local time on Saturday.
”They had filled up with petrol and then went to a neighbourhood nearby to collect something from a relative of Celinis.
”There the captors arrived, four men on motorbikes.
”They threatened them with weapons, made them get into the same vehicle and sped off with the other two on a motorbike tailing them. They headed for a rural area.
”The authorities were informed and there was a chase.”
In a statement, the army said it had set up roadblocks and deployed two motorised platoons, unmanned aircraft, helicopters and a plane with radar in the search for his father.
A reward of “up to 200m pesos” (about £40,000) for any information that leads to the rescue of Diaz’s father was also announced by the director of the National Police, General William Rene Salamanca.
On Monday, October 30, 2023, Colombian authorities revealed Diaz’s fathers potential location.
Colombia’s attorney general, Francisco Barbosa, has confirmed that it is possible Luis Manuel Diaz could be taken to Venezuela.
He told reporters: “We have information that he could, at some point, be in Venezuela.
“If he ends up crossing the border and he’s in Venezuela, we have to ask [Colombia] President Gustavo Petro … to help us with freeing Luis Diaz’s father.”
Does Luis Diaz have any siblings?
Also part of the Diaz family is Luis’ brother, Jesús.
According to reports, Jesús also has a passion for the sport and like his brother is also a professional footballer.
At the time of writing, Diaz’s brother plays on loan as a forward for Porto B.