MEXICO CITY – Less than three years ago, Luis Díaz’s parents were kidnapped by Members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in his hometown of Barrancas, Colombia. On Wednesday, June 17, the Colombia star forward will make his World Cup debut in Colombia’s opening match against Uzbekistan.
Díaz’s parents were taken on October 23, 2023 by armed men on motorcycles outside a gas station. Díaz’s mom, Cilenis Marulanda, was recovered within hours after the kidnappers abandoned her in a car due to the police setting up roadblocks around the town. Díaz’s father, Luis Manuel Díaz, however, spent 13 days in captivity.
Luis Manuel Díaz was finally returned on Nov. 9 to members of the United Nations and Catholic Church officials after extensive negotiations between the ELN, the Colombian government, the UN and the Catholic Church.
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The ELN is very active along the Colombia-Venezuela border and the mountains where Barrancas is located. Luis Manuel Díaz spoke to the press weeks after his captivity, saying that he went almost 12 days without sleep and did a lot of very hard horseback riding and hiking in the mountains.
Luis Manuel Díaz was a prominent member of Barrancas, coaching soccer (including his son), triggering the community to march for his freedom.
Luis Díaz used his own platform to advocate for his father’s freedom. After scoring against Luton Town while playing for Liverpool at the time, Díaz pulled up his jersey to reveal a shirt that said “Lbertad para Papa” or “Freedom for Papa.”
He also took to social media, begging for his father’s freedom while describing his and his family’s misery and thanking everyone for their support.
“Every second, every minute our anguish grows,” Díaz wrote at the time. “My mother, my brothers and I are desperate, distressed and unable to find the words to describe what we are feeling. This suffering will only end when we get him back home.”
Today, Luis Manuel Díaz and his wife still live in Barrancas, where they closely follow Díaz’s career. In his first season with Bayern Munich, Díaz scored 26 goals and recorded 19 assists while leading Bayern Munich to a Bundesliga title.
Tatum Esparza is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
