‘Very difficult’: father of Luis Díaz speaks for first time after release by Colombia guerillas

Luis Manuel Diaz has described how he spent 12 days trekking through mountains with almost no sleep

The father of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz has spoken publicly of how he endured almost two weeks of arduous treks and sleepless nights while held captive by armed guerrillas on the Colombian-Venezuelan border.

Luis Manuel Diaz, 58, said: It was a lot of horseback riding, really hard, a lot of mountains, a lot of rain, too many insects." A weak Diaz, who was helped to and from a chair by his family, told journalists in his home town of Barrancas in Colombia: I couldn't sleep peacefully, it was very difficult, almost 12 days without sleep."