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Star Liverpool football player Luis Diaz had been going through some tough times off the pitch. The 26-year-old’s father had been kidnapped by the Colombian rebel group called the ELN on Friday.
The entire ordeal lasted for nearly a dozen days as the 56-year-old was held hostage. The senior Luis Manuel Diaz was kidnapped on the 28th of October in Barrancas which became a piece of huge news across the world.
ELN which is a guerilla unit in Colombia gave the possession of the senior Luis Diaz to a humanitarian team. The entire exchange was done on the Colombia – Venezuela border as the 56-year-old came back to teary-eyed family members.
The 12-day ordeal ends for Luis Diaz Senior –
Colombian guerrilla unit called the National Liberation Army which is also called the ELN has finally Luis Diaz Senior. The entire kidnapping saga lasted 12 days during which his son Luis Diaz Junior was seen pleading for his father’s release after scoring for Liverpool.
The elder Diaz was bought for his release in a helicopter as a swarm of reporters were there to record the happenings. The 56-year-old was seen overwhelmed with happiness as he had tears of joy on seeing his family. Even the family members wept openly on the safe return of the Luis Diaz senior.
Once the father of the Liverpool star was back home there were huge celebrations with music. During a radio broadcast, the senior Diaz could be heard saying “Thank all the people… for this great support they have given to my family. I love them very much, soon I will have the opportunity to greet them and give them a hug.”
Luis Diaz senior and his wife were kidnapped on the 28th of October which the ELN called a mistake. The incident happened when motorcycle-borne men with arms kidnapped the two senior citizens. While Luis Diaz Senior’s wife was rescued by the local authorities, the 56-year-old was still at large.
It was later found out that the ELN was behind the kidnapping as round after round of negotiations began. The ELN finally agreed to release the man after the army decided to relocate to help with the safe release of Luis Diaz senior.
Luis Diaz Junior has played 40 games for Liverpool and scored 11 goals for his club. For his national side Colombia, he has played 43 games and scored 9 goals. The young Liverpool star trained under his father during his formative years before achieving success globally.
