Parents of Liverpool winger Diaz kidnapped in Colombia

The mother of Liverpool's Colombian winger Luis Diaz was rescued from kidnappers on Saturday but a search remains on for his father, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Saturday.

Petro posted on X, formerly known as twitter, that Diaz's mother was rescued in Barrancas in the northern part of the country.

"We continue in the search for the father," added Petro.

Colombia's Attorney General's Office said they had been working intensely on the case.

"From the moment the Attorney General's Office learned of the kidnapping of the parents of the Colombian player Luis Díaz, in the Barrancas sector of La Guajira, a specialised team of prosecutors, police and military personnel have been working to find "the location of these people, clarify the facts and find those responsible," the office said on X.

Local media reports said that Luis Manuel Diaz and Cilenis Marulanda were at a service station in the La Guajira area when armed men on motorbikes took them.

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The director of the police, General William Salamanca, said he deployed intelligence agents and other police departments in the area to deal with the case.

The police are "already involved, right now, in carrying out checkpoints, identifying people on motorbikes, private public service vehicles (...) for the recovery of the two kidnapped people, the father and mother of the footballer Luis Díaz," Salamanca told Colombian media earlier on Saturday.

The governor of La Guajira, Diala Wilches, condemned the kidnapping and appealed for their return.

"To the kidnappers, we demand that they return them immediately, safe and sound," she said.

The 26-year-old Liverpool and Colombia winger has not commented on the matter.

Diaz has played 43 times for Colombia and joined Liverpool last year from Porto.

Liverpool are due to play Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday.