Colombian military chiefs say they have laid the ground for the release of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz’s dad “in the next few hours.”
They confirmed on Monday night that 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.”
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 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.
