Liverpool star Luis Diaz’s father missing after kidnapping incident

Luis Diaz’s father, Luis Manuel Diaz is missing after a kidnapping incident that occurred on Saturday the 28th of October.

Manuel Diaz and his wife Cilenis Marulanda were kidnapped by motorcyclists in their hometown of Barrancas.

Luid Diaz’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda was rescued shortly after the incident. His father is still missing.

A source told the Colombian magazine Semana, “We already have the mother, she is in good health, scared, but she is fine. They took the father away on a motorcycle, they took him out of the car and took him along the trails there”.

Diaz’s father is still missing, with police and military personnel are now involved in the search for Manuel Diaz. Over 120 soldiers plus armed police joined the manhunt in the northern Department, La Guajira.

The combined efforts of police and the military have so far been unable to recover Manuel Diaz, despite the use of drones, aircraft, and specialised equipment in the search.

The Attorney General’s Office released a statement saying that police and military are “in urgent action in order to find the location of these people, clarify the facts and find those responsible.”

Colombian authorities have offered a reward equivalent to £40,000 for any information leading to the rescue of Diaz’s father.

Image credit: @DirectorPolicia Instagram

Francisco Barbosa, the Attorney General has announced in a statement, “We have information that he could, at some point, be in Venezuela. If he ends up crossing the border and he's in Venezuela”.

According to reporting by the BBC’s Latin America and Caribbean editor Vanessa Buschschluter, the area Diaz’s parents were in when kidnapped is one of the most dangerous areas in Colombia with kidnappings not uncommon despite crime in the country falling rapidly.

Whilst the reason for the kidnapping is unclear, Buschschluter suggests kidnappings are often linked to ransom payments. She wrote, “they target well-off individuals and demand high sums for their release.”

Should Diaz’s father be in Venezuela, the search party’s ability to rescue him will be limited, with Barbosa saying they will “have to ask President Gustavo Petro ... to help us with freeing Luis Diaz's father.”

In a statement, the Colombian Football Federation said, “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.”

Given his personal situation, Luis Diaz was not in the squad for Liverpool’s game against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said after Liverpool’s 3-0 win, “We had to obviously make a late change because of the private situation involving Luis Diaz. 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.”

Portuguese attacker Diogo Jota led Liverpool’s tributes to Diaz during their win, holding up his number seven jersey following his goal. After the game, he also said, “It's unimaginable to think a situation like this could happen. We can just support him and show him we're with him.”