Luis Diaz parents kidnapped with mother rescued as search for father continues

29 October 2023 , 01:55

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The parents of Liverpool player Luis Diaz were kidnapped in Colombia on Saturday night. (Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)

Liverpool star Luis Diaz's parents were kidnapped by unidentified armed motorcyclists in Colombia on Saturday evening. His father remains missing while police have said they rescued his mother from captors.

The incident occurred in Barrancas, La Guajira, but details remain fuzzy as officials try to determine what led to the abduction. High-ranking Colombian government officials are on the case, and the Attorney General's Office wrote that the police and military are "in urgent action in order to find the location of these people, clarify the facts and find those responsible." Checkpoints have been set up to inspect motorcycles and other vehicles in the area.

“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,” a source told SEMANA.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has confirmed that Diaz's mother, Cilenis Marulanda, is accounted for and safe, according to Reuters.

Luis Diaz's mother has been rescued from the kidnappers

Local reports indicate that authorities are in active pursuit of the father in a matter that has stretched long past sunset. Diaz himself has not yet made any public comments about the situation.

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Initial security footage obtained by SEMANA purportedly shows the vehicle Diaz's parents were driving in and a motorcyclist riding behind them just before the kidnapping. The video appears to have been taken by a street-side camera.

"The Colombian Football Federation regrets the security situation that the parents of our player Luis Diaz are going through," Diaz's national team wrote in a statement. "From the FCF we express our solidarity with him and his entire family and we call for the relevant authorities to act as quickly as possible to resolve the situation."

Diaz is in England with Premier League side Liverpool, but his parents stay in his home nation, where the forward has become a beloved figure. Their neighborhood features street murals with Diaz's face. His father, Luis Manuel, was his first football coach.

The 26-year-old left South America to continue his blossoming career in 2019 when FC Porto signed him. After a highly impressive stretch for the Portuguese club, which included individual success in the Champions League, Liverpool brought him to Anfield in 2022. He's been a tremendous asset under Jurgen Klopp when healthy.

Despite living so far away from his family members, Diaz's mother has said they regularly keep in touch. He likes to tell her about his relationship with Klopp and Liverpool teammates.

"God gives him blessings so that he can continue to excel," his mother said last year. "He is loving with his dad, with everyone, we talk every day. He tells me, 'Mummy, you’re the best mummy in the world; I love you very much'. He doesn’t hold grudges against anyone because he’s always been simple since he was a child, humble; I’ve seen him the same way since he was a child."

Dan Bernstein