Major update in hunt for Liverpool star Luis Diaz’s kidnapped dad as potential location revealed after ‘bloody gunfight’
A MAJOR update in the search for Liverpool star Luis Diaz’s kidnapped dad has emerged as Colombian authorities reveal his potential location.
Colombia’s attorney general, Francisco Barbosa, has confirmed that it is possible Luis Manuel Diaz could be taken to Venezuela.
Diaz’s parents were kidnapped on Saturday night by armed gunmen at a gas station in their home town 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.
In a shocking update, Barbosa has now confirmed the potential whereabouts of Diaz’s father.
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 and military were immediately mobilised as a full scale operation to recover the pair was put in place on Saturday.
It comes after earlier reports suggested Diaz’s father was rescued during a police shoot-out that left two of the four kidnappers dead.
A man described as the best friend of Luis Manuel Diaz told a Colombian radio station the footballer’s dad and his wife had been heading to the home of a relative when they were taken hostage at a petrol station.
Victor Medina said: “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.
On Sunday, 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.”
Diaz was left out of Liverpool’s squad for their 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday.
Diogo Jota, who replaced the Colombian in the starting lineup, held up Diaz’s number seven shirt after scoring Liverpool’s first goal.
Following the game, he said: “Luis was with us in the hotel then he went home. It’s a very hard situation and I don’t know how anyone would react if it happened to you.
“He was going to play. I played instead of him and I showed him his shirt to show we’re with him and we hope everything works out.
“It’s unimaginable to think a situation like this could happen. We can just support him and show him we’re with him.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp dedicated the win to Diaz, saying they had won “for our brother”.
Speaking on the sudden turn of events, Klopp said: “It’s a worrying situation for all of us and it was a pretty tough night.
“I have never had that before. It’s a new experience I never needed.”
“We heard late last night about it. We spoke to Luis, he wanted to go home.
“Then we got the news with his mum, which is fantastic, and since then nothing really.”
The club said before Sunday’s game that they were “aware of an ongoing situation” involving the family of Diaz, adding the player’s welfare “will continue to be our immediate priority”.