The National Liberation Army (ELN) has assured in a statement released this Friday that it has already begun the process to free the father of soccer player Luis Díaz, kidnapped last Saturday in Barrancas (La Guajira). “From now on, the process of his release begins and we want to avoid any incident,” reads a text dated Thursday and signed by José Manuel Martínez, commander of the Northern War Front. The guerrilla also points out that the responsible command was dedicated to “economic missions” and that those responsible did not know that the victim was the athlete’s father. “When it is verified that this is Lucho Díaz’s father, his release is directed because he is a relative of the great athlete that all Colombians love,” the letter adds.
The peace delegation of Gustavo Petro’s Government had already announced on Thursday that the ELN was behind the kidnapping. “We demand that the ELN immediately release Mr. Luis Manuel Díaz, and we remind him that it is his entire responsibility to guarantee his life and integrity,” stressed Otty Patiño, chief negotiator of the Executive. “We remind the ELN that kidnapping is a criminal practice, violative of International Humanitarian Law, and that it is their duty in the development of the current peace process, not only to stop carrying it out, but also to eliminate it forever,” he added.
The kidnapping occurred when the victim and his wife, Cilenis Marulanda, were leaving a gas station in Barrancas. After a few hours of confusion, the Army and Police deployed a large operation in this area of La Guajira, a poor region next to the Caribbean Sea. This immediacy in the response meant that the kidnappers, faced with the risk of being trapped, had to free the mother. However, Manethe father, suffered worse luck and disappeared.
Since then, government and opposition politicians have pointed out the impact that this action could have on the peace process. On Thursday, President Gustavo Petro sent Patiño to Cuba to negotiate the release with the armed group’s leadership. The next day, he regretted that the guerrillas had not yet freed Mane. “The ELN today is responsible for the life of Luis Díaz’s father. He has done an act that goes against the peace process itself,” he declared from Washington, where he is participating in a meeting of leaders of the continent.
The ELN is a federated guerrilla and the incident casts a shadow over the control that the high command has over the commandos. Currently, a six-month bilateral ceasefire is in effect that began on August 3 and remains in force until next year. However, there are conflicting interpretations about the scope of the agreement. ELN chief negotiator Pablo Beltrán said in June that “withholdings” and “taxes”—kidnappings and extortions—were not part of it. The Government delegation, for its part, reported in its statement on Thursday that it will take this case to the Monitoring and Verification Mechanism of the ceasefire.
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