The Colombian rebel group EMC, or Central General Command, has announced it will stop kidnapping people for ransom money as part of peace negotiations with the government.
Days after he was released by kidnappers, the father of Colombia striker Luis Díaz was in tears on Thursday after he watched his son score both goals in a 2-1 win over Brazil in a World Cup qualifying match. Wearing a Colombia jersey and a necklace, Luis Manuel Díaz fell on top of some people next to him in the stands of the Metropolitano Stadium and wept next to his wife, Cilenis Marulanda, as he celebrated. Luis Manuel Díaz was held captive for 12 days in a mountainous region by the ELN guerrilla group.
Luis Díaz scored two goals to help Colombia stun Brazil in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday, as his father watched on from the stands just a week after being released by kidnappers.
Liverpool soccer player Luis Díaz was reunited Tuesday with his father, who was kidnapped in northern Colombia by a unit of a guerrilla group in late October and released last week. Photographs posted on the Colombian Football Federation's account on X, formerly Twitter, captured the striker and his father, Luis Manuel Díaz Jiménez, hugging each other. With the message “Welcome home Luchooo,” the federation announced the arrival of the elder Díaz to Barranquilla, where the Colombian national team is set to play against Brazil on Thursday.