Luis Diaz reunited with his father (Twitter/@FCFSeleccionCol)
Liverpool winger Luis Diaz has been reunited with his father for the first time since he was kidnapped in Colombia.
Diaz has returned to Colombia for the November international break and arrived in the city of Barranquilla on Tuesday morning to meet with his father Luis ‘Mane’ Diaz.
Diaz’s father and mother, Cilenis Marulanda, were kidnapped by four men at gunpoint at a petrol station in Barrancas on October 28.
Diaz’s mother was rescued within hours but his father was held by the National Liberation Army (ELN) for 12 days before he was freed last Thursday.
Diaz’s father was handed over to United Nations and Catholic church officials by members of the ELN close to Colombia’s border with Venezuela in the Perija Mountain Range.
In the images shared by the Colombian Football Federation, Diaz is seen tearfully embracing his father alongside his other family members.
Luis Diaz with his father (Twitter/@FCFSeleccionCol)
Luis Diaz reunited with his father in Colombia (Twitter/@FCFSeleccionCol)
Speaking about his ordeal, Diaz’s father said: ‘Even though the treatment was good, I didn’t feel very comfortable. A lot of quite difficult horseback riding, lots of mountains, rain.
‘I missed my things, my children, my town, my friends.’
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‘My aspirations are to continue in my town because I have my entire family in my town.
‘The government has given me impressively strong and great support. I trust and have faith that it will provide me security to be in Barrancas.’
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Diaz’s father was held for 12 days in Colombia.