Liverpool star Luis Diaz's father may have been taken to Venezuela, says Colombia's attorney general

Liverpool attacker Luis Diaz's father, Luis Manuel Diaz, could have been taken across the Colombia border to Venezuela, according to Francisco Barbosa.

The attorney general told the press (via The Mirror):

"We have information that he could, at some point, be in Venezuela. If he ends up crossing the border and he's in Venezuela, we have to ask [Colombia] President Gustavo Petro ... to help us with freeing Luis Diaz's father."

This comes after a harrowing incident where Diaz's parents were kidnapped on their way to their home in the town of Barrancas. The police and the military have been deployed at full strength to find the perpetrators.

The Liverpool star's mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was released shortly after the incident. She is believed to be unharmed. However, Diaz's father's whereabouts are still unknown.

In a statement, the Colombian Football Federation urged the kidnappers to release the victim.

It read:

“We ask the captors of Luis Manuel Diaz, father of Luis F. Diaz, to release him immediately, without conditions. Football is peace. Luis, we are with you. Colombia is with you."

Diaz was set to start in the Reds' 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest but was eventually dropped out of the squad. Manager Jurgen Klopp stated that it was a difficult situation for everyone at the club.

He said (via press conference):

"We had to obviously make a late change because of the private situation involving Luis Diaz. It's a worrying situation for all of us and it was a pretty tough night. I have never had that before. It's a new experience I never needed."

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Liverpool star offers tribute to Luis Diaz in win over Nottingham Forest

Jota held up Diaz's jersey in a show of support.

Liverpool attacker Diogo Jota paid tribute to Luis Diaz after scoring the opening goal in the side's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest. Speaking after the game, the Portugal international offered his support to his teammate, whose parents have been kidnapped in Colombia.

He said (via press conference):

"Luis was with us in the hotel then he went home. It's a very hard situation and I don't know how anyone would react if it happened to you. He was going to play. I played instead of him and I showed him his shirt to show we're with him and we hope everything works out. It's unimaginable to think a situation like this could happen. We can just support him and show him we're with him."

Diaz was set to start the fixture but was left out of the team after outlets from Colombia reported the situation. The 26-year-old is now being kept informed by the police chiefs regarding the matter.

The pair were believed to have been kidnapped on Saturday evening. His mother was eventually released, but his father's location is still unknown. A full-scale operation is underway to rescue the Liverpool star's father.