The authorities in Colombia began an intense search operation to find the father of soccer player Luis Díaz, a Liverpool player.
Luis Manuel Díaz and his wife Cilenis Marulanda, the soccer player’s mother, were kidnapped by armed men on the night of Saturday, October 28, in the department of La Guajira, in northern Colombia, local media reported.
Two men traveling on a motorcycle kidnapped the couple at a gas station in the city of Barrancas, near the border with Venezuela, reported the El Colombiano portal.
However, The player’s mother was rescued on Saturdayreported President Gustavo Petro.
More than 120 soldiers and police were deployed in northern Colombia on Sunday to locate the soccer player’s father, in an operation that authorities call “Operation Padlock.”
The Colombian Army reported in a statement that it established roadblocks and deployed two motorized platoons, unmanned aircraft, helicopters and a plane with radar for the search.
“All public forces have been deployed” to find Díaz’s father, Petro said.
Reward
General William René Salamanca, director of the National Police, offered a reward of “up to 200 million pesos” (around US$50,000) to anyone who provides information about the case.
“The actions of the public force seek to block the way for these criminals to prevent Luis Díaz’s father from being transferred to Venezuelawhich is a first hypothesis,” declared the Colombian Minister of the Interior, Luis Fernando Velasco, to Semana magazine.
For his part, Attorney General Francisco Barbosa said he spoke with the 26-year-old soccer player and warned him about the possibility of his father being in Venezuela.
If true, he indicated that Petro’s intervention would be required.
A victory for Luis
The Colombian footballer did not participate in Sunday’s matchin which Liverpool beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the Premier League.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp dedicated the victory to Díaz. He said they had won “because of our brother.”
Surrounded by his teammates, Diogo Jota lifted the Colombian player’s number seven shirt after scoring Liverpool’s first goal.
Before the match, the British club said the players are “aware of a current situation” involving Díaz’s family.
Player well-being “will continue to be our immediate priority”he added.
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