The Colombian government says the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group has released the father of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz after kidnapping him nearly two weeks ago.
In a statement on Thursday, a Colombian delegation that has been negotiating with the ELN in pursuit of a peace deal welcomed the release of Luis Manuel Diaz but said his kidnapping “should never have happened”.
Local television channels showed Diaz’s father at an airstrip in the city of Valledupar on Thursday after exiting a helicopter. The Liverpool and Colombian national football team striker had implored the kidnappers to release his father, who was taken hostage at gunpoint in northern Colombia on October 31.
Manuel Diaz’s wife, Cilenis Marulanda, was also taken hostage but was rescued several hours later. The Colombian government had pressured the ELN to release Manuel Diaz, whose <a href="https://news.ad-astra.icu/father-of-liverpool-footballer-luis-diaz-released-by-colombias-eln-rebel-group.html" title="Father of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz released by Colombia's ELN rebel group“>kidnapping set back efforts to negotiate a lasting peace with the rebel group.
Link from www.aljazeera.com