Liverpool striker Luis Díaz's father speaks for first time since after ELN kidnapping ordeal

Luis Manuel Díaz, the father of Liverpool striker Luis Díaz, has been freed by his kidnappers and spoke publicly for the first time.

Díaz said he was forced to walk “too much” while he was held captive in the mountains by the National Liberation Army (ELN), a left wing Colombian guerrilla group.

“I would not want anyone to be in that mountain in the situation I was in,” he told journalists as tears streamed down his face.

Díaz was kidnapped on Oct. 28 in his family's hometown of Barrancas in the northeast region of Colombia.

In a Friday news conference, the 58-year-old said the experience was “very difficult.”

Colombian law enforcement agents have arrested four people in connection with being “allegedly responsible for Luis Manuel Díaz's kidnapping,” according to local media.

Colombian police announced on the X social media platform that a criminal group called “Los Primos” was uncovered after a joint transnational law enforcement effort between British and Colombian officials.

Díaz was kept hostage until Nov. 8 when the ELN finally released him to representatives from the United Nations and Catholic Church officials.

Police initially believed a criminal gang was kidnapped the 58-year old father of the Liverpool soccer player, but a government delegation later said it had “official knowledge” the abduction was orchestrated by “a unit belonging to the ELN.”

The ELN is Colombia's most active armed insurgent organization. It has an estimated 2,500 members who have been launching violent attacks against civilians and law enforcement for nearly 50 years since 1964.

It is very active near the Venezuela border, where Luis Manuel Díaz and his wife live. Several Americans and others have also been abducted near the Colombia-Venezuelan border and taken hostage by the Maduro regime.

One of those hostages, Eyvin Hernandez, a Los Angeles public defender has been held for several months and is currently the subject of negotiations for release between the Maduro regime and the U.S. State Dept.

Díaz’s wife, Cilenis Marulanda, was also kidnapped at gunpoint with her husband, but was released after only a few hours in a nearby town from where the abduction took place. 

Díaz’s son, a popular Colombian-born Liverpool footballer repeatedly demanded his release. His cries eventually prompted an outcry Barrancas residents who held a candle-lit march.

Soon, other Colombians became moved by the tragic situation and began demanding Díaz’s release, placing the ELN under pressure amid peace negotiations with President Gustavo Petro.

Petro has been criticized by conservatives for trying to negotiate with the armed insurgency organization. Former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe said, “with kidnappings there can be no peace.”

Uribe served as Colombia’s 31st president and served from 2002-2010, but still remains politically active and has managed to remain as an influential voice both domestically and internationally.