Father of Liverpool soccer star Diaz not leaving Colombia after kidnapping

FILE PHOTO: Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia Carlos Ruiz Massieu hugs Luis Manuel Diaz, father of Liverpool player Luis Diaz, after he was freed by Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN), in Valledupar, Colombia November 9, 2023. Esteban Vanegas/Mision ONU (UNVMC)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

BOGOTA (Reuters) - The father of Liverpool soccer player Luis Diaz said on Friday he will keep living in Colombia after enduring nearly two weeks of captivity by guerrillas, marked by sleepless nights and exhausting days of horseback riding through the mountains.

Luis Manuel Diaz, 58, was released on Thursday by the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) 12 days after he was taken hostage on Oct. 28 in Barrancas, a rural municipality where he lives in the northern province of La Guajira.