ELN admits that it was a mistake to kidnap the football player’s father

Guerrilla leader National Liberation Army (ELN)Eliécer Herlinto Chamorro, alias “Antonio García,” admitted this Saturday that “it was a mistake” to kidnap the father of Colombian soccer player Luis Díaz, after it was learned that this group was holding him captive in the north of the country.

“The detention of Father Luis Díaz by the Northern War Front was a mistake. Lucho is a symbol of Colombia and we feel him as such in ELN,” admitted the guerrilla leader in a statement broadcast on its channels.

García added that the Central Command (COCE) of the ELN “led the release of Lucho’s father”, something that was already confirmed this Friday by the Northern War Front, a group that he kidnapped himalthough at this time they have not given details on when or where this release will take place.

“We hope that the operational situations on the ground can be resolved, that is the direction that the commanders have to speed up the release,” he concluded.

In the statement, the guerrilla, who has opened peace negotiations with the Governmenthe pointed out that “ELN fronts are forced to carry out actions in order to finance themselves”, therefore “actions to achieve economy do not contradict the ceasefire or its protocols.”

This is the first public statement of the leader of the ELN after the announcement on Friday evening from its Northern War Front, in which they insinuated that during the kidnapping last Saturday, the members of that group did not know that the abducted was the football player’s father. .

“The northern war front has commands with economic missions and one of them carried out the deprivation of liberty, which, when it was reported and verified, was the father of Lucho Díaz, his release was directed because he was a relative of the great athlete that we want all Colombians,” the message said.

Luis Manuel Díaz and Cilenis Marulanda, parents of Liverpool’s Colombian winger, were kidnapped last Saturday in the city of Barrancas, in the Caribbean department of La Guajira, while traveling in their vehicle. The athlete’s mother was released a few hours later.

The authorship of the ELN in this abduction caused surprise, since these guerrillas and the Government are in a truce that has not been broken for now, as well as tension in the peace process carried out by the two sides.

President of Colombia, Gustavo Petroassured on Friday that the abduction of the Liverpool football player’s father by the National Liberation Army (ELN) was “an act that goes against the very peace process” by the guerrillas.

Since news broke of the abduction of the Colombian star’s father, police and the military have launched a massive ground and air search involving at least 250 men from both forces.