Luis Diaz latest: Liverpool star’s father ‘kidnapped by guerrillas’ but could soon be released

The kidnapped father of Liverpool star Luis Diaz is being held by rebels belonging to the National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombia’s government has announced.

The international footballer’s parents were snatched by gunmen while buying watermelons at a service station in their home town of Barrancas, La Guajira, on Saturday. His mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was left behind in a car as police closed in as part of ‘Operation Padlock’ and rescued, but his father Luis Manuel Diaz was taken away by men on motorbikes.

A major search operation by over 200 elite police officers and military personnel is underway to find him, focusing on the Perija mountain range and forests on the border of Colombia and Venezuela. The army has set up roadblocks, deployed helicopters, a plane with radar and two motorised platoons to help locate Diaz’s father. A reward of £40,000 is also available for information leading to his safe return.

In a fresh update on the search on Thursday, the Colombian government announced that guerrilla group ELN are behind the kidnappings. The rebels admitted responsibility during ongoing peace talks with government representative Otty Patiño.

A report from Colombian publication Semana said the ELN group could free Diaz’s father in the coming days.

A huge police and military search has found two motorbikes and a car used in the kidnapping but has yet to locate where Diaz’s father is being held. Negotiator Patiño has demanded the “immediate release” of Luis Manuel from the clutches of the ELN.

Reds winger Diaz was persuaded not to return to his homeland over fears for his safety but he is receiving regular updates from the authorities. The 26-year-old took to social media on Tuesday to repost an instagram message urging people to join a public march in Colombia to highlight the plight of his father and plead with kidnappers to ‘free him now’. It amounted to his first public statement since the terrible news broke at the weekend.