The Colombian government has been asked to provide guarantees by the kidnappers of Manuel Diaz, the father of Liverpool’s Luis Diaz, in order to enable his release.
Diaz’s father was kidnapped by the left-wing ELN rebel group nine days ago.
They have since pledged to free him, but they have not yet kept their word.
However, the guerrilla organization asked for the suspension of security activities in order to avoid any more delays, in a statement that was signed by Commander Jose Manuel Martinez Quiroz, one of the group’s unit leaders.
“On November 2, we informed the country of the decision to release Mr. Luis Manuel Díaz, father of the player Luis Díaz. From that date, we began the process to accomplish this as soon as possible. We are making efforts to avoid incidents with government forces,” read the statement.
“The area is still militarized, they are carrying out flyovers, disembarking troops, broadcasting and offering rewards as part of an intense search operation. This situation is not allowing for the execution of the release plan quickly and safely, where Mr Luis Manuel Díaz is not at risk.
“If operations continue in the area, they will delay the release and increase the risks. We understand the anguish of the Díaz Marulanda family, to whom we say that we will keep our word to release him unilaterally, as soon as we have security guarantees for the development of the liberation operation.”