THE father of Liverpool forward Luis Diaz, Luis Manuel Diaz, has given details of his time in the hands of a guerilla group who kidnapped him in his native Colombia.
Luis Manuel Diaz was released on Thursday after spending 12 days in the custody of the guerrillas who had abducted him and his wife.
He held a press conference, during which he said his kidnappers had advised him to remain calm.
He said he had “almost 12 days without sleep” and had to endure “a lot of quite difficult horseback riding, lots of mountains, rain”.
“Even though the treatment was good, I didn’t feel very comfortable,” Mr Diaz said.
The 58-year-old and his wife were abducted by armed men on motorcycles at a petrol station in the town of Barrancas, near Colombia’s border with Venezuela on Saturday, October 28.
Luis Diaz’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was rescued shortly after by police after roadblocks were set up.
Officials said they could not rule out the possibility that Mr Diaz had been smuggled over the border and a reward of $48,000 had been offered for information leading police to the hostage.
Luis Diaz made an emotional plea for his father’s release last Sunday after scoring a late equaliser for Liverpool at Luton Town, revealing an undershirt with the message ‘Freedom for Papa’.
According to the Colombian FA, Mr Diaz was eventually released by guerrillas from the National Liberation Army (ELN), which has been embroiled in an internal conflict with the government for decades that has left more than 450,000 people dead, although a six-month ceasefire began in August.
