Guerilla group ‘planned kidnapping of Luis Diaz’s dad for five months’ as ELN admits snatching ‘Lucho’ was a ‘mistake’
THE ELN has planned the kidnapping of Liverpool star Luis Diaz’s dad for at least five months, it was claimed today.
It comes shortly after the guerrilla group's boss admitted that snatching Luis Manuel Diaz was a mistake.
ELN members had put Luis Manuel Diaz under surveillance to study his routine, Colombian outlet Semana reported.
They would work out the times he left home and returned, the places he visited and the friends he frequented.
They decided to snatch the 58-year-old last Saturday in his home town of Barrancas because police were busy preparing for regional elections which took place the following day, Semana reported.
The men who abducted Luis Manuel and his wife followed the couple as they left their home to visit a friend and struck near a town petrol station as they parked their car.
Two men on motorbikes threatened them with a gun and one of them got into Luis Manuel’s vehicle to take a route they had “planned previously” to avoid a rapid police response, Semana reported.
Alejandro Zapata, deputy director of Colombia’s National Police, indicated earlier this week he thought the crime had been well-planned.
He said, before the ELN emerged as the culprit: “When something like this happens, it is generally not spontaneous and there has been previous planning, people that draw people to a certain place, that is, who place them somewhere so that others arrive and that’s what we are investigating.”
The ELN previously admitted that snatching Liverpool star Luis Diaz's father was a mistake in a message shared by the guerrilla group's commander, Antonio García, on the ELN Telegram group.
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"The retention of Luis Díaz's father by the Northern War front was a mistake," García and other commanders of the ELN wrote.
"Luis 'Lucho' is a symbol of Colombia and we feel it as such in the ELN."
The boss added that the group is guiding the release of Luis Manuel Diaz, for which there is still no set date or time.
It comes as the footballer's partner made a heartbreaking plea to kidnappers as they celebrated their little girl's birthday.
Gera Ponce, 25, said that the best gift for her two-year-old daughter would be to "have Grandpa Mane by our side again."
The Liverpool star's dad, 58, was kidnapped alongside his wife, Cilenis Marulanda, by armed men on motorcycles at a petrol station in the small town of Barrancas in northern Colombia last Saturday.
While Cilenis was rescued within hours, Diaz's father has been missing ever since.
Colombia’s government says the armed rebel group the National Liberation Army, known as ELN, are responsible for taking him hostage.
Founded in 1964 as a leftist anti-government group, the ELN has about 2,000 fighters and is considered a terrorist organisation by the US and European Union.
Diaz, 26, has been left out of Liverpool's last two games as a result of the kidnapping, but celebrated his daughters birthday today.
And alongside photos of the family uploaded to her Instagram account, Gera made the heartbreaking plea to the ELN kidnappers.
She said: "Today our great love turns 2 years old, a princess who fills our hearts with hope.
"The best gift for her would undoubtedly be to have Grandpa Mane by our side again and we trust in God that it will be so.
"God bless you, keep you and allow you to always grow surrounded by love, my princess. Happy Birthday! WE LOVE YOU."
Earlier today, however, ELN confirmed that they will release Diaz's dad after verifying his relation to the Liverpool star.
ELN rebels claimed responsibility for the kidnapping on Thursday and offered the Diaz family a glimmer of hope, promising to release Luis Manuel within "hours".
Although he still remained a hostage two days later, the terrorist group has now revealed it has begun the process of releasing Luis Manuel.
A representative for ELN, Juan Carlos Cuellar, said: "We must recognise the situation you have heard in the news is true and the ELN is going to free Mr Diaz’s father as soon as possible."
The kidnap by the communist ELN rebels is believed to have been masterminded by a 40-year-old female fighter called Patricia.
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News of the winger's father's release comes following speculation he was being taken to Venezuela.
Diaz's mum, Cilenis, made her first appearance since the kidnapping earlier this week and demanded her partner's release, as Diaz urged members of the public to march in solidarity with his family.
