Military hunting Luis Diaz’s dad breakthrough – could secure release in ‘hours’
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Colombian military chiefs say they have laid the ground for the release of Luis Diaz’s dad “in the next few hours."
They confirmed last night soldiers and police hunting for his kidnappers had been ordered out of the area the nine-day hunt had been focusing on to facilitate Operation Freedom. Around 200 men forming part of the search for Luis Manuel Diaz in the Perija Mountains on Colombia’s border with Venezuela have been told to return to the town of Barrancas where he was abducted just over a week ago.
Colombia’s Army said of the military manoeuvre: “All the guarantees and conditions are being offered so Mr Diaz can recover his freedom in the next few hours.” Coronel Giovanni Montanez, confirming for the first time earlier reports of a strategic withdrawal of soldiers from the Perija Mountains, said: “The troops that are taking part in the search operation for Luis Manuel Diaz are being ordered to carry out a repositioning to give guarantees for the handover of this hostage.”
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Coronel Giovanni Cristancho, who heads a police elite unit taking part in the search operation, added: “Men who were on the ground and leading searches and conducting roadblocks have been removed from the area. They are now in Barrancas and we can state that the area in question is free of any type of offensive operation.”
Reports earlier yesterday had pointed to a strategic withdrawal taking place but up until late last night there had not been any official confirmation. The withdrawal operation followed a pledge by the guerrilla group holding Luis Manuel Diaz hostage to “keep its word” and free him after his footballer son issued an emotional appeal to the criminals, and a simultaneous attack on the government.
The left-wing ELN said it understood the anguish of the Liverpool star’s family in its first official statement since promising the world late last week it had started the process of securing his dad’s release. But it went on to say the government response triggered by the October 28 kidnap, when it swamped areas like the Perija Mountains near Barrancas in Luis’s home region of La Guajira with elite police and soldiers, made the release difficult.
The group insisted it needed “security guarantees” before freeing the 58-year-old. The statement appeared to confirm speculation the hostage-takers are concerned for their own safety if they hand Mr Diaz over.
ELN chiefs released their new pledge after the Liverpool star broke his silence about his dad’s kidnap with an emotional social media message begging the group to release him promptly. The 26-year-old said, referring to his father by his nickname of Mane as he is better known: “‘This is not Luis Diaz the player speaking. Today it is the son of Luis Manuel Diaz speaking.
“Mane, my dad, is a hard-working family man, the pillar of our family and he’s been kidnapped. I ask the ELN for the prompt release of my father, and I ask international organisations to work together for his freedom Every second, every minute, our anguish grows. My mother, my brothers and I are desperate, distressed and without words to describe what we are feeling. This suffering will only end when we have him back home.
“I beg you to release him immediately, respecting his integrity and ending this painful wait as soon as possible. In the name of love and compassion, we ask you to reconsider your actions and allow us to have him back. I thank Colombians and the international community for the support received, thank you for so many demonstrations of affection and solidarity in this difficult time that many families in my country find themselves experiencing.”
He released his statement after coming off the bench to score a last-gasp equaliser for Liverpool against Luton on Sunday afternoon.
The ELN, which says a regional unit called the Northern War Front kidnapped Luis Manuel, responded with a statement signed by the unit’s leader Commander Jose Manuel Martinez Quiroz.
It said: “On November 2, we informed the country of the decision to release Mr. Luis Manuel Díaz, father of the player Luis Díaz. From that date, we began the process to accomplish this as soon as possible. We are making efforts to avoid incidents with government forces.
“The area is still militarised, they are carrying out flyovers, disembarking troops, broadcasting and offering rewards as part of an intense search operation. This situation is not allowing for the execution of the release plan quickly and safely, where Mr. Luis Manuel Díaz is not at risk. If operations continue in the area, they will delay the release and increase the risks.
“We understand the anguish of the Díaz Marulanda family, to whom we say that we will keep our word to release him unilaterally, as soon as we have security guarantees for the development of the liberation operation.” Luis Diaz’s mum Cilenis Marulanda was also abducted near the couple’s home alongside her husband but freed shortly afterwards as the police and army hunt for their captors kicked in.
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On Sunday morning local time she fought back tears as she urged the kidnappers to release her partner. Cilenis Marulanda made her impassioned plea as she took part in a second march to demand Luis Manuel Diaz’s freedom. She said, with her eyes closed before breaking down and being hugged by a relative beside her: “I want them to release him now, that the people who are keeping him free him now back to me, because we want to have him back home.”
Cilenis wore a T-shirt with her husband’s face printed on it under the message: “Your family is waiting for you.” The abduction of civilians has been a traditional practice of the ELN. In January 2018 the rebel group kidnapped an oil engineer in the north of Colombia. He was named at the time as 41-year-old Andres Riano Ravelo.
Two Dutch journalists were kidnapped by the group in June 2017, the Colombian military said. The ELN said in June when it agreed a ceasefire with the government that it would continue with the twin crimes of kidnapping and extortion “where necessary,” describing them as being essential to the group’s “finances.”
A negotiator for the group said at the time: “We don’t talk about kidnap, we talk about retentions. If they are not necessary they won’t happen.” The Marxist-Leninist ELN, or National Liberation Army in English, was founded in 1964 by radical Catholics inspired by Cuba’s communist revolution. It was behind a car bombing in January 2019 at a police academy in Bogota which killed 21 people and injured 68 others, making it one of the deadliest attacks ever in the Colombian capital.
Peace talks have been going on between the ELN and the Colombian government since March 2020 when the guerrilla group declared its unilateral ceasefire. Last Tuesday afternoon relatives, friends and well-wishers took to the streets of Barrancas, in the border region of La Guajira, for the first march to demand the liberation of Luis Manuel or Mane as he is better known in his home town.
The march began at 5pm local time and finished at the home of Luis Diaz’s parents. Many children took part in the march holding up white balloons and wearing Colombian tops with Luis Diaz’s name and shirt number on them.
A local armed with a loudspeaker asked the crowd of protestors: “What does Barrancas demand for Mane Diaz?” and received the rapturous reply: ‘Libertad, Libertad, Libertad’ – ‘Freedom, Freedom, Freedom’ in English. The Liverpool striker urged people to join the march shortly before it started. His message, featuring a promotional poster, said: “Take your candle to ignite the light of hope.”
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