Rebels Kidnapped Father of Liverpool Soccer Star Luis Díaz, Colombian Government Says

Abduction threatens peace talks between ELN guerrillas and leftist government of Gustavo PetroCilenis Marulanda, left, was also abducted but was rescued soon after.

Colombia's government says the armed rebel group the National Liberation Army, known as ELN, was responsible for the weekend kidnapping of the father of Liverpool and Colombian national football team striker Luis Diaz

In BOGOTA, Colombia—A leftist guerrilla group that embarked on peace talks with President Gustavo Petro’s administration has been deemed responsible for kidnapping the father of European soccer star Luis Díaz, the government said Thursday.

The National Liberation Army, which has operated since the 1960s and entered into a cease-fire agreement with the government in August, kidnapped Diaz’s parents, Luis Manuel Díaz and Cilenis Marulanda, on Saturday in the town of Barrancas in northeast Colombia near the Venezuelan border, said Otty Patiño, the government’s lead negotiator in talks with the group.