AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023
Luis Diaz is the first Indigenous Colombian to make it to the top echelons of football (HENRY NICHOLLS)
The Colombian government on Thursday accused the ELN guerrilla group, with which it is seeking to negotiate peace, of kidnapping Liverpool winger Luis Diaz's parents in their home town last weekend.
Diaz's mother Cilenis Marulanda was rescued hours after the abduction in Barrancas, but his father Luis Manuel Diaz has been missing ever since.
The crime "was perpetrated by a unit belonging to the ELN," a government official said on X, formerly Twitter, adding: "we demand the ELN immediately free" the missing man, who local media say is 56 years old.
The ELN and the government of leftist President Gustavo Petro are in the midst of peace negotiations and a six-month ceasefire which entered into force in August.
The parents of Colombia and Liverpool player Diaz were abducted Saturday by armed men on motorcycles at a gas station in their home town of 38,000 people in the northern La Guajira department.
Marulanda was rescued hours later and a massive search operation was launched for her husband.
Colombian authorities have said there has been no ransom demand.
The ELN, or National Liberation Army, has not claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
"We demand the ELN immediately free Luis Manuel Diaz," said Thursday's statement signed by Otty Patino, the head of the government delegation in peace talks with the ELN.
He added it was the ELN's "responsibility to guarantee his life and integrity."
Attorney General Francisco Barbosa has said the older Diaz "could be" in Venezuela, without giving further details.
- Meteoric rise -
Luis Manuel Diaz was an amateur coach at the only football academy in Barrancas, a town near the Venezuelan border, where his son showed promise from a very young age.
Dissidents of the FARC guerrilla group that disarmed in 2017 are also known to be active in this remote part of Colombia, as are paramilitary fighters and criminal gangs.
Petro, a former urban guerrilla himself, took office last August with the stated goal of achieving "total peace" in a country ravaged by decades of fighting between the security forces, leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs.
More than 38,000 people have been kidnapped in Colombia over the years, mainly by groups raising funds with ransom money.
The ELN, Colombia's last recognized guerrilla group, started as a leftist ideological movement in 1964 before turning to crime -- focusing on kidnapping, extortion, violent attacks and drug trafficking.
With some 5,800 combatants, the group is primarily active in the Pacific region and along the 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border with Venezuela.
Official data shows the ELN has a presence in more than 200 municipalities where fighting has displaced communities caught up in the violence.
"We remind the ELN that kidnapping is a criminal practice, in violation of international humanitarian law, and that it is its duty (within the context of) the current peace process not only to stop the practice but also to eliminate it forever," said Patino.
The elder Diaz is credited with aiding the meteoric rise of the Liverpool and Colombia striker known as Lucho.
Acquaintances have told AFP that he sometimes sold food he cooked himself to pay for his son’s trips to Barranquilla, the city where he had his debut with the football club Junior.
The younger Diaz, who has not spoken publicly about the kidnapping, has played for his country 43 times and arrived at Liverpool last year from Portuguese club Porto.
He has played 11 games with Liverpool and scored three goals, and is the first Indigenous Colombian to make it to world football's top echelons.
Colombian police have offered a reward equivalent to about $48,000 for information that leads them to Diaz and his captors.
das/mlr/dw
Luis Diaz’s hometown prays for return of footballer’s kidnapped father
Matthew Charles
Thu, 2 November 2023
The parents of Luis Diaz, pictured with their son, were abducted and threatened at gun point
It was about 5pm on Saturday afternoon when rumours began to spread that someone had been kidnapped. Barrancas in northern Colombia is a small town so news travels fast.
“My phone beeped, my wife’s phone beeped, my son’s phone beeped. All pretty much simultaneously,” local resident, José Hernández told the Telegraph. “So we knew something was up.”
The parents of Liverpool left-winger, Luis Diaz, had been abducted from a petrol station as they stopped to fill up their car. His mother was rescued hours later, but his father remains missing.
“Everyone’s in shock,” said Mr Hernández, a friend of the couple. “This just doesn’t happen here.”
That shock has reverberated across the country.
Almost a year since the government embarked on a controversial, soft-touch “total peace” gang-crime strategy, murder and kidnapping rates are once again on the rise.
The Colombian government has launched a major military search operation to find Luis Manuel Diaz, mobilising elite police officers, as well as more than a hundred soldiers specially trained in hostage rescue missions. Helicopters and planes equipped with heat-seeking cameras have also been deployed to scour the jungle for the footballer’s father.
Like most places in Colombia, Barrancas, a hot and dry place in the La Guajira desert region, has a painful past.
But more recently the town has enjoyed a sharp rise in tourism, not least because of its connection to the Liverpool star.
CCTV footage broadcast by local television shows men on motorbikes following his parent’s car just before they were abducted.
“Something like this is not spontaneous, it is planned,” Alejandro Zapata, deputy director of the national police, said in a press conference. “But we know who they are.”
The military fear Luis Manuel Diaz may be transported over the border into Venezuela - EyePress News/Shutterstock
On Monday, police confirmed they had identified a number of individuals linked to the kidnapping, but no names have been released for operational reasons and, so far, no warrants have been issued.
£40,000 reward for information
Security camera footage released by the police shows two of the suspects they believe to be responsible. Authorities are offering a £40,000 reward for information.
Eyewitnesses to the kidnapping told The Telegraph that Mr Diaz’s parents were threatened with guns. They were driven off in their own vehicle, which was found 90 minutes later, seven miles away. The kidnappers had swapped cars, taking Diaz’s father with them, but leaving his mother behind.
“She was in good health, but obviously very distraught,” said Emiro Bonilla, the acting mayor of Barrancas. “We think they left her behind in an attempt to keep the police off their tail.”
Luis Manuel Diaz and Celina Marulanda are well known and much loved in this small town of 40,000 people. Luis Manuel, affectionately called “Mane” by most people, trains young footballers.
Residents in Barrancas attend a candlelight vigil for the safe return of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz's father - Reuters
Eight-year-old Jesus Arbeláez is one of them.
“We want our teacher back,” he said, accompanied by his mother.
On Tuesday, residents of the town held a candlelight vigil to demand the safe return of Luis Manuel Diaz. Hundreds of people marched through the streets chanting “freedom”.
“Mane is a noble person,” said Mr Hernández. “He’s one of us. He’s helped the kids of this town. Now we need to help him.”
The geography of the region is hampering rescue efforts. Authorities say the kidnappers drove off through the Perijá mountains, which straddle the Colombia-Venezuela border. It is dense and difficult terrain, providing the perfect cover for criminal activity.
There are a number of organised criminal groups involved in smuggling and people-trafficking on both sides. A family friend told local media that the couple had received threatening calls demanding extortion before Saturday’s kidnapping.
Fears he may be taken across border
Military sources told The Telegraph that they were in a rush to find Mr Diaz because they feared he might be taken across the border.
The incident has stoked fears of increasing insecurity in Colombia, where such kidnappings were becoming less common until a surge in the past 12 months.
As part of its controversial “total peace” strategy, the Colombian state is negotiating with organised criminal structures and gangs in order to encourage their demobilisation.
But just more than a year into the programme, researchers say it has allowed Colombian criminal groups to grow in strength. Crimes such as murder and kidnapping have increased as a result.
“We’re at a critical crossroads,” said analyst, Maria Victoria Llorente. “The government’s ‘total peace’ strategy is not achieving the results it set out to achieve, so we need to reassess it.”
At the football club in Barrancas founded by Luis Manuel Diaz - and where his son played as a child - some 200 young footballers have suspended their training. The football pitch in the town’s Villa Luz neighbourhood has been taken over by helicopters from Colombian special forces.
The young players, clad in their football kits as a mark of respect, look on defiantly.
“Mane is like our dad,” says 10-year-old Rafel Pinto. “We won’t play again until he’s back with us.”
Matthew Charles
Thu, 2 November 2023
The parents of Luis Diaz, pictured with their son, were abducted and threatened at gun point
It was about 5pm on Saturday afternoon when rumours began to spread that someone had been kidnapped. Barrancas in northern Colombia is a small town so news travels fast.
“My phone beeped, my wife’s phone beeped, my son’s phone beeped. All pretty much simultaneously,” local resident, José Hernández told the Telegraph. “So we knew something was up.”
The parents of Liverpool left-winger, Luis Diaz, had been abducted from a petrol station as they stopped to fill up their car. His mother was rescued hours later, but his father remains missing.
“Everyone’s in shock,” said Mr Hernández, a friend of the couple. “This just doesn’t happen here.”
That shock has reverberated across the country.
Almost a year since the government embarked on a controversial, soft-touch “total peace” gang-crime strategy, murder and kidnapping rates are once again on the rise.
The Colombian government has launched a major military search operation to find Luis Manuel Diaz, mobilising elite police officers, as well as more than a hundred soldiers specially trained in hostage rescue missions. Helicopters and planes equipped with heat-seeking cameras have also been deployed to scour the jungle for the footballer’s father.
Like most places in Colombia, Barrancas, a hot and dry place in the La Guajira desert region, has a painful past.
But more recently the town has enjoyed a sharp rise in tourism, not least because of its connection to the Liverpool star.
CCTV footage broadcast by local television shows men on motorbikes following his parent’s car just before they were abducted.
“Something like this is not spontaneous, it is planned,” Alejandro Zapata, deputy director of the national police, said in a press conference. “But we know who they are.”
The military fear Luis Manuel Diaz may be transported over the border into Venezuela - EyePress News/Shutterstock
On Monday, police confirmed they had identified a number of individuals linked to the kidnapping, but no names have been released for operational reasons and, so far, no warrants have been issued.
£40,000 reward for information
Security camera footage released by the police shows two of the suspects they believe to be responsible. Authorities are offering a £40,000 reward for information.
Eyewitnesses to the kidnapping told The Telegraph that Mr Diaz’s parents were threatened with guns. They were driven off in their own vehicle, which was found 90 minutes later, seven miles away. The kidnappers had swapped cars, taking Diaz’s father with them, but leaving his mother behind.
“She was in good health, but obviously very distraught,” said Emiro Bonilla, the acting mayor of Barrancas. “We think they left her behind in an attempt to keep the police off their tail.”
Luis Manuel Diaz and Celina Marulanda are well known and much loved in this small town of 40,000 people. Luis Manuel, affectionately called “Mane” by most people, trains young footballers.
Residents in Barrancas attend a candlelight vigil for the safe return of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz's father - Reuters
Eight-year-old Jesus Arbeláez is one of them.
“We want our teacher back,” he said, accompanied by his mother.
On Tuesday, residents of the town held a candlelight vigil to demand the safe return of Luis Manuel Diaz. Hundreds of people marched through the streets chanting “freedom”.
“Mane is a noble person,” said Mr Hernández. “He’s one of us. He’s helped the kids of this town. Now we need to help him.”
The geography of the region is hampering rescue efforts. Authorities say the kidnappers drove off through the Perijá mountains, which straddle the Colombia-Venezuela border. It is dense and difficult terrain, providing the perfect cover for criminal activity.
There are a number of organised criminal groups involved in smuggling and people-trafficking on both sides. A family friend told local media that the couple had received threatening calls demanding extortion before Saturday’s kidnapping.
Fears he may be taken across border
Military sources told The Telegraph that they were in a rush to find Mr Diaz because they feared he might be taken across the border.
The incident has stoked fears of increasing insecurity in Colombia, where such kidnappings were becoming less common until a surge in the past 12 months.
As part of its controversial “total peace” strategy, the Colombian state is negotiating with organised criminal structures and gangs in order to encourage their demobilisation.
But just more than a year into the programme, researchers say it has allowed Colombian criminal groups to grow in strength. Crimes such as murder and kidnapping have increased as a result.
“We’re at a critical crossroads,” said analyst, Maria Victoria Llorente. “The government’s ‘total peace’ strategy is not achieving the results it set out to achieve, so we need to reassess it.”
At the football club in Barrancas founded by Luis Manuel Diaz - and where his son played as a child - some 200 young footballers have suspended their training. The football pitch in the town’s Villa Luz neighbourhood has been taken over by helicopters from Colombian special forces.
The young players, clad in their football kits as a mark of respect, look on defiantly.
“Mane is like our dad,” says 10-year-old Rafel Pinto. “We won’t play again until he’s back with us.”
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