Guerrilla group ELN released the father of soccer player Luis Diaz almost two weeks after kidnapping him in northern Colombia.
Luis Manuel Diaz was released to representatives of the United Nations and the Catholic Church.
Diaz’s wife, who was also kidnapped on October, 27 was released hours after being taken hostage in Barrancas, a municipality in the northern La Guajira province.
The release was announced by the Catholic Church, which published images of Diaz and church leaders from the Caribbean region.
The kidnapping was carried out by the ELN’s Northern War Front and caused a major crisis in ongoing peace talks between the government and the guerrillas.
As part of a ceasefire that took force in early August, the ELN agreed to refrain from victimizing civilians.
The guerrillas have used kidnapping to fund their insurrection since the 1990’s.
