Díaz’s parents - Luis Manuel Díaz Jiménez and Cilenis Marulanda — were kidnapped by a unit of the ELN at a gas station by armed men on motorcycles. Marulanda was rescued by police a few hours later, but Díaz’s father was held captive for 12 days by the ELN. Prosecutors said in a statement that Alcires Bolivar was a merchant in La Guajira who had been contacted by a member of the ELN to help him kidnap Díaz’s parents. After the kidnapping, special forces were deployed to search for Díaz’s father in a mountain range that straddles Colombia and Venezuela. The ELN acknowledged the kidnapping, saying it was a mistake and that its top leadership had ordered the father’s release.

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Persons: Luis Díaz, Colombia’s, Andrés Alcires Bolívar, Marlon Rafael Brito, Díaz’s, Luis Manuel Díaz Jiménez, Marulanda —, Marulanda, Alcires Bolivar, “, Rafael Brito, Díaz, ELN Organizations: Liverpool, National Liberation Army, Catholic Church, United Nations, Prosecutors, Barrancas Council, national soccer team, Police Locations: BOGOTA, Colombia, Barrancas, La Guajira, Colombia’s, Venezuela