The kidnappers of Manuel Diaz, the father of Liverpool winger Luis Diaz, have demanded assurances from the Colombian government, to facilitate his release.
The left-wing ELN guerrilla organisation abducted Diaz’s father nine days ago.
Although they have since promised to release him, they are yet to fulfil that vow.
However, in a statement signed by one of the group’s unit leaders, Commander Jose Manuel Martinez Quiroz, the guerrilla group requested the suspension of security operations to prevent any further delays.
“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.”