Luis Diaz breaks his silence after dad kidnapped by gang as cops ‘close net’ on suspects & potential location revealed
LUIS Diaz has broken his silence after his parents were kidnapped in Colombia last week, while his dad remains missing.
The Liverpool star took to Instagram and urged his followers to “march for the release of Mane Diaz”.
The post explained to followers that the “whole community” was invited to “bring your candle to light the light of hope” as he urged his father’s captors to “release him now”.
Diaz’s parents were kidnapped on Saturday night by armed gunmen at a gas station in their hometown of Barrancas, La Guajira, in the country’s northern region.
The player’s mum, Cilenis Marulanda, was later rescued after being found in Barrancas on Saturday, but her husband is yet to be found.
Yesterday, Colombia’s attorney general, Francisco Barbosa revealed Luis Manuel Diaz’s potential location and confirmed it is possible the winger’s father 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.”
The Attorney General added that he had contacted Diaz twice to provide the 26-year-old with updates on the investigation.
Colombia President Gustavo Petro said “all the public forces have been deployed” to find Diaz’s father.
The police, alongside the Colombian military, were immediately mobilised as a full-scale operation to recover the pair was put in place on Saturday.
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.
On Sunday, the director of the National Police, General William Rene Salamanca, announced a reward of “up to 200m pesos” (about £40,000) for any information that leads to the rescue of Diaz’s father.
The Colombia Football Federation also issued a statement to the captors.
It read: “We ask the captors of Luis Manuel Diaz, father of Luis F. Diaz, to release him immediately, without conditions. Football is peace. Luis, we are with you. Colombia is with you.”