A DEAL to save Luis Diaz's dad could be done in hours – but rescuing him from the kidnappers will be the most dangerous part, a hostage negotiator has warned.
Notorious Colombian guerrilla group ELN or National Liberation Army confirmed on Thursday that the group was behind the abduction of the Liverpool star's dad, Luis Manuel Diaz.
And while the guerrilla group has offered fresh hope, promising to free Mr Diaz within hours, a hostage negotiator who has worked in South America says the release of a hostage is the most complicated part of the process.
Due to the high-profile nature of the kidnapping, ex-Scotland Yard officer Scott Walker believes a deal might be struck soon.
He believes the peace delegation of the government negotiating with the ELN will want to resolve this "as soon as possible".
But Walker said the "recovery and release" of Mr Diaz can be the most dangerous part of the operation.
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He told The Sun: "Reaching an agreement is not the same as a safe release and recovery.
"Recovery and release can be the most dangerous as people relax and drop their guard. Yet it's not over until the hostages are safely back.
"The Colombian government will want this resolved as quickly and as safely as possible which is why theyre throwing lots of resources at it.
"The negotiators who engage with the ELN anyway about the peace process will be negotiating for the release of Diaz’s father as part of that as well."
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It's believed a woman known only as Patricia, the leader of one of the regional units of the rebel group, was responsible for orchestrating the abduction.
A senior Northern War Front member known only as Mateo is said to be holding the 58-year-old hostage with foot soldiers under Patricia’s orders.
Scott explained that the goal of kidnappers is usually to get "as much money as they can as quickly as they can".
But with infamous groups such as the ELN and Farc, there is often "some political concession or some political question" involved, he said.
The Colombian government is currently engaged in peace talks with ELN and there is a six- months ceasefire.
"Clearly this guerilla group they are looking somehow to put pressure on those peace talks and increase concessions or even sabotage them," Walker said.
Diaz's father was kidnapped on Saturday night by armed gunmen at a gas station in Barrancas, La Guajira.
The Liverpool star's mum, Cilenis Marulanda was also snatched-but was later found in Barrancas.
Authorities in Colombia have launched a massive police operation to locate the winger's missing dad and even sniffer dogs were brought in to join the rescue efforts.
The country’s army has already been joined by an elite police anti-drugs commando squad specialising in complex jungle operations to find the 58-year-old.
Colombian cops believe the lair of the kidnapping gang is located in the inhospitable jungle terrain of the Perija Mountains near the Venezuelan border.
Scott believes there is a possibility that the footballer's dad has been taken across the border to Venezuela – which could make his release even more complicated.
"The borders at that part of the world are pretty porous so it is a possibility he may be taken over to Venezuela," he said.
"It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened and it would obviously make any rescue attempt more difficult if it’s across the border."
He explained that even though threats of torture or even murder are commonplace tactics for guerrilla groups, he is confident Luis Diaz's dad is being treated well.
He said: "In the vast majority of cases the hostages will be reasonably looked after because it is in the hostage takers interest to do so because it helps with their bargaining power and people arent going to pay a ransome for a corpse.
"Threats are a commonplace in kidnappings because it puts pressure on the family or the company to pay ransom or give concessions- it’s a standard tactic."
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has revealed he has spoken to Diaz personally to reassure him about the government’s efforts to free his dad.
He said on his official X account: “We have spoken with Luis Diaz yesterday. We are working for the liberation of his father.”
Earlier this week, Diaz urged his Instagram followers to "march for the release of Mane Diaz".
ELN is notorious for massacres and kidnappings is aligned with the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
Farc launched its guerrilla war against the Colombian government in 1964, after a peasant uprising that was crushed by the army.
Over the decades, the conflict drew in several leftist rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs.
The Marxist-Leninist group, which in Colombia is called the ELN, was founded in 1964 by radical Catholics inspired by Cuba’s communist revolution.
It was behind a car bombing in January 2019 at a police academy in Bogota which killed 21 people and injured 68 others, making it one of the deadliest attacks ever in the Colombian capital.
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Peace talks have been going on between the ELN and the Colombian government since March 2020 when the guerrilla group declared a unilateral ceasefire during the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Scott is the author of the Order Out of Chaos: How to become a World-Class Communicator and Win Every Negotiation.
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