I know that we did everything we possibly could to make sure our adoption was legitimite. We used a reputable agency, scutinized everything we possible could, scrutinized the mother's home study for any possible clue, etc. etc. but I still look at these pictures and do so with great apprehension.
I know what these mothers are feeling because it doesn't take much for me to know how I would feel if my daughter were taken from me. My heart aches for these women.
I also know what I would do because it is what I feel would be in the best interest of my daughter.
She's almost nine; happy, healthy and safe; very bright and doing very well in school; well adjusted and adventurous.
When I close my eyes I can see her future and smile.
When I close my eyes and think of her life had I not adopted her, even knowing she would be loved, I cry.

we have ongoing contact with our daughter's family in guatemala - it is a blessing for us as a family - why did we search? we did everything the previous poster listed - got reccomendations, researched, used an agency well thought of, dna samples were tested in london and taken at uk embassy while her mother was interviewed - but we kept reading about children kidnapped, mother's pressurised into 'completing' for many reasons - so we made contact and sleep better at night

another thing that crosses my mind is this - how would i feel if i went to the city for a shopping trip tomorrow and while there my daughter was kidnapped? i spend years looking for her, my life is ripped apart and i cannot function until i know what has happened to her - i hear many terrifying rumours of what could have happened to her - i look for her everywhere, even in my dreams - i list her on a website for missing children and hope with all my being that someone sees her picture and takes the brave step to confide in guatadopt (safely and confidentially) so that i can know that she is alive and loved ... and not dead or in a hellhole somewhere ...i am still forever destroyed by the fact that my child is not in my life every day - but now at least i can sleep at night and know that where she is sleeping she is loved and well cared for

these families in guatemala need our help and guatadopt has kindly offered to act as 'go-between' for any family who thinks they may know something - this is so important - i know what i would do

I'm not clear as I read various posts and comments on what the protocol would be if a kidnapped child is discovered here in the U.S.

What is Guatemalan Government's stance on this, as well as the U.S. Government's stance?

If a child was stolen from his or her mother, "on paper" it would make sense to return that child. In real life, it would leave a trail of broken hearts (adoptive parents and extended family, the child themselves). The only winner would be the biological mother.

I'm not saying I have a strong opinion either way. I'm very torn. Justice seems to say that the child needs to be returned. Common sense to me says the situation should remain as it is. There are no easy answers.

Kevin,
This is a generous and ethical offer to make. I just have to wonder if its a promise you would be able to keep. I'm not a lawyer but I know that child traficking is not petty crime, and any poor family who finds themselves caught up in this is facing some serious legal issues. I'd have to think that your involvment as a third party messenger could result in a legal action for you to disclose the identity of the adoptive parents? Any lawyers in the house?
I also think that as trustworthy as Kevin is, that any adoptive parents who find themselves in this situation should seek legal counsel first before contacting him about forwarding pictures to Guatemala. Kevin is not the only person who administers the guatadopt site, and while he is willing to keep identities confidential we haven't heard from the rest of the crew.

Anonymous,

You are correct in many ways. If someone were to come to me and if at a later date I were supbeona'd or the like, I can't promise I'd go to jail (not in my children's bets interest).

My offer was also nothing that was obviously official. ust saying that we could make that contact and that I'd be happy to help to help these women get some minimal degree of peace while making the APs more comfortable.

Kevin
Guatadopt.com

Kevin, I think you should re write your plea and have the potential AP contact the proper authorities if they choose that course of action, and stay out of the middle because you cannot provide confidentiality. As a lawyer, I'm saying that federal and international kidnapping charges of a minor will trump any and all attempts to keep certain info confidential. This is one of those situations where if the answer is not already clearcut, you wouldn't get the answer unless a judge ruled. By that time, your stress level would be so high... You have no standing to keep the info confidential- no attorney/client privilege, etc. I know you have the very best of intentions, but you cannot legally keep that promise without destroying evidence and bringing undue stress onto yourself and your own family. These are tragic circumstances.

I know this is easy for me to say because my own adopted child is not involved, but I would return the child. I would beg the birth family to allow me to keep her, once they saw that she thought of me as her mother. But, if they said no, I would cooperate. The reason is that it is simply the right thing to do -painful, agonizing, tortuous, though it is. I have the impression that most of the Guatadopt readers have very young children. One of my kids is 13 years old and really struggling with being adopted. She is feeling deep down, "How could my mother give me up??" It's deeper than an intellectual inquiry. She is not connected to me through the generations of bloodlines, ancestry, relatives who look similar, etc. If she discovered when she was grown that her birth mother wanted her back and I refused, I cannot imagine that emotional fallout. Apparently a lot of adoptees have lifelong struggles with being adopted. So, while the "returned child's" short term life would be miserable going back to a family he or she doesn't know, for his or her whole adult life, it is the right answer. JMO.

Kevin,
Does anyone know the stance on the US government for kidnapped children? Hard to believe it is legal to adopt a kidnapped child as long as the adoption reaches final? Why don't they get involved?

I'm not an attorney but I work in the legal world, have lots of friends/co-workers that are attornies, and I was the plaintiff in a law suite when I was mauled by a dog. My understanding is that if you are subpoenaed, you almost always have to provide the requested information.

Anyone see the documentary on the families that adopted children from some Pacific Island and are being forced to return the kids? This is going on right now in Utah. The biological families were told that the kids were going to stay with families in the US to get educations in the US. Then low and behold the kids were adopted.

Kindest REgards, CHeryl

I believe that authorities have attempted contact, though I am not 100% sure. I don't know the US government stance on all of this. Certainly the APs were not aware of anything and did nothing criminal.

If it seems I overstepped my bounds (heck this is just a blog site after all), I may have. But on the other hand if there was a miniscule chance I could help, why not overstep a bit?

For the record, and anyone who has dealt with me privaytely can attest to this, before anything would be done I would obviously have discussed with the APs the details, response in the event of legal action, etc.

Someone correct me if I am wrong but I believe in the case of the Marshall Islands, the adoptions were handled as domestic adoptions. The mothers were travelling to Hawaii to give birth. So from a legal perspective, right or wrong as obviously there should be no difference, I don't think these situations are the same.

On DNA tests. Once the second test was part of the requirements, it would not be so easy to scam the test by switching kids. This is important.

First test gets done with the b-mom. You get other people to stand in for that one - easy. Now many months later the second test is done. It has to match the child from the first test. The picture taken at the second test was used to match up with the passport photo and the picture provided to the USE for the visa. The idea was to make sure that child leaving the country was the same for which the DNA was done twice.

Given that, I see only one way to get around it. It means the doctor's office, approved by USE, would have had to be in on it. They would have to take the picture with the kidnapped child but send the lab a DNA sample for the other child.

The prospect that this occurred is deeply troubling and needs to be addressed. That is a serious allegation that sickens me to ponder! But I don't see how else one could accomplish this after the second DNA test was part of the rules. Assuming of course that the adoptions were not done as abandonments. If that's what happened, and these birthmoms has reported the kidnappings to the police, then it places huge shame on the Guatemalan authorities.

Kevin
Guatadopt.com

I do not want to seem unfair or ignorant. However I've heard
There are places in Guatemala that parents are exchanging
Their children for a lifelong of monetary help. Is that what
They seek? My thoughts are adopt a child and forget about
The life they currently have. We all know that after adoption
Their lives will change forever, for the best I hope. I am
Not Guatemalan but my kids father is and would love to
Help the children there. I want to take them from unfair
Circumstances and parents who only care about themselves.

Everybody keeps putting the cart before the horse. Lets establish the children are found and alive and well before we ponder what is best for them. The authorities should be able to follow the investigative trail and find the families and have DNA done. If there is nothing at the end of that trail like families don't exist then something far more nefarious happened and appeals to APs humanity on an AP website is not going to help find them.

For a family that only had one DNA test, does anyone know if the lab keeps the sample results after several years? In other words, if someone wanted confirmation, could they do a DNA swab on their child and have it sent to the same lab to confirm? Just curious if any one ever throught to look into this.

It's about time! The whole practice of baby stealing and buying is nothing short of disgusting. We already know that there has been corruption with Guatemalan adoptions, therefore, in the best interest of the children, all Guatemalan adoptions should be stopped. Including those started prior to December 2007. Grandfathering of cases should not be allowed. I also question Guatemalan adoption standards. Especially in regards to adoptive parental age limits. How, in good conscience, can we allow a 60 year to adopt an infant? GET REAL PEOPLE!!!

In looking over the information about the missing children, certain people are alleged to be involved in more than one case-- Facilitator Teo and doctor/sample packager L. Aida Gutierrez C. Two cases where the birth mother's were unconscious when the children were abducted due to surgery or receiving a drugged drink. They could have taken a sample from the birth mother while she was unconscious. Oh ya and there was the one that was locked in the closet. Maybe they forcibly took a sample from her too.

Thinking back on my daughter's adoption process, it was prolonged for quite awhile toward the end because they wanted a signed affidavit from my daughter's birth mother. I'm glad they asked for the signed affadavit. It makes me feel better.

Best, Cheryl

Cheryl, read over the last three sentences of your post:

"Maybe they forcibly took a [DNA]sample from her too....Thinking back on my daughter's adoption process, ...they wanted a signed affidavit from my daughter's birth mother. I'm glad they asked for the signed affadavit. It makes me feel better."

an affidavit can be forcibly obtained as easily as a DNA sample...I myself would take no comfort in the fact there is a signed affidavit.

JMHO

AP

Ruby- There are women that became mothers ( with the help of the medical science ) at 65 years old!!! So, as you said, we should " GET REAL PEOPLE " also about a case like this and the authorities should take away the new born from that mother? It's better to have new born children dumped in a landfield ( please read the Guatemalan newspapers )because the mothers can't take care of them, rather than having them adopted by a 60 ( or even 70 ) years old couple? I think YOU need to " GET REAL ". How many are the grandparents that are the real parents of children with parents that works all day long? What makes you thinks that a 60 years old couple can't take care of a Guatemalan orphan? Please explain me your comment. Thank you.Vince. P.S. I am not a 60 years old parents.

What do people think about visiting Guatemala at this point? I bought non-refundable tickets for my 6 year old daughter and I to visit in August just a couple of days before they call came to light. I did everything I could to try to make sure her adoption was ethical, but unfortunately, I do not know if it was or not. I hope with all my heart that she was not stolen...if she was or if there was not a good story to her adoption, I still know it would not be in her best interest to be returned now. Should I be scared to return to Guatemala with her this summer?

So AP, let me ask you some questions. Do you think that the use of physical force is common? Do you think it is possible that I might have more information on my situation than what I posted? I said, "It makes me feel better." Does that sound like I think the Affadavit is absolute confirmation that nothing was amiss?

Jo, I asked that question and it appears the answer is yes families should contact the lab that performed their DNA to verify depending on how long its been.

Ruby, they were stopped for the US. Not for other countries or domestic. When you say all do you mean other countries and domestic as well or just grandfathered cases? Grandfathered cases have to go through the new CNA and I would think more scrutiny then before. If these cases go through more scrutiny and people who want corruption to stop look at case and can't find a reason to not allow the adoption do you think they still shouldn't allow the adoption and have the children just sit without a family?

concerned parent: I would not worry about visiting. Enjoy your trip!

To Ruby-
Are you for real? I am wondering if you just posted this to get a rise out of people? I don't really think it is wise to make such sweeping statements. I will be the first to agree that change needed to occur with Guatemalan adoptions but to shut the whole system down? Come on. I am a grandfathered case that now has to go through the CNA. My child has been sitting in a Hogar now for two years, denied a permanent family. Is that in the best interst of the child, no I don't think so.
I am just curious, do you already have a child home or are you in-process-a grandfathered case so to speak?
I truly hope you are just a poster that likes to get things started and not for real.

A couple of points, while it would certainly be very relieving to send in a DNA sample and see that it matched the one they used to pass DNA for your child, getting a negative result does not necessarily mean that your child was stolen. If there really is someone at the clinic that has been bought, it is possible that lawyers used this as a means of simplifying their process (for instance, birthmother lives remotely or has job or is difficult for any reason to bring in). The money we paid the lawyer goes a long way in this poor country and any way the wheels might have been greased may - and likely - have occurred. Just consider that when making your decisions. Perhaps trying to secure contact with the birth family is the best way? It will give you piece of mind as well as give your child the value of knowing who his other family is as he/she grows.

For those who are sure your child is better off with you, I ask you to be clear of how you arrive at that conclusion. Obviously no one wants to think about the trauma of readjustment for the child who loves you just as much as if you had birthed him/her. But, life in Guatemala is not automatically "worse" than life here. If your child was stolen from a biological mother, that mother did not choose to give up the child, would/is loving him/her still, and could very probably provide an awesome life for the child. I'm merely posing this to allow us all to inspect any ethnocentricity we might be feeling. Guatemala is a wonderful place to grow up.

Put another way, if you had your biological child stolen from you and it was found that they were adopted, would you feel the child would have a better life staying with the adoptive parents?

Sad at heart,
I'd find a bad DNA result alarming. As far as justifying it with mothers living out of town and attorneys simplifying the process which is simpler and more practical? Making arrangements with a woman who exists, is a willing participant, and staying within process or scouring the hillsides for a lookalike woman with lookalike child of same age and gender then it would involve collusion and you'd have to approach this woman and run risk of either being a human torch in a village or being turned into or caught by authorities. I cannot fathom that being simpler then just going and working things out with the mother if indeed she existed and wants the adoption to go through. Further a mother looking out for her childs best interest would want to support a process of DNA to ensure children are not being stolen. And if she weren't such a mother good riddance.

In regards to repeat posts guilting the APs everyone assumes has these kids and assumes they're reading this website... I say it again.. are the children still missing and what happened to the end of the investigative trail on their supposed adoptions? If we know they were adopted then why can't someone verify they are with X family and okay in which case children would not be missing. And if they were adopted but our tracking is that lousy, for the love of god, do APs have to do EVERYTHING? I hope people would keep all avenues open in the minds and continue to search until certain and not jump to a conclusion, stop looking, and waste time begging APs when the children might not be with APs. If you have nothing else to offer than plea then that helps too since we don't know but I truly hope the search hasn't boiled down to this. Have any of you read the horror stories involved with human trafficking? I pray to God these children are with decent law abiding families who truly care about the childrens well being and not with predators. As far as what happens next.. ensure the children are accounted for and okay before we worry about what should happen next. If I were missing I'd hope two groups that loved me did the decent thing, put their disagreements aside, and spent their energies on finding me.

Ruby,

I would like to ask what you proposed Guatemala does with the children linked to families in grandfathered cases if they were stopped?? I have SEEN children whose adoptive parents have stopped the adoption and they are moved to "government facilities" and they are under fed and lack clean facilites. The children suffered starvation to the point that they developed problems walking and were hospitalized.

Yes, stop the grandfathered cases and sentence the children to life in a substandard instituion, that's a very humane thing to do for the children..

I have been fighting to bring my son home for 2 years, our family is his sole source of support. Who do you think in Guatemala has the resources and is willing to provide for him??? We asked about the option of finding him a Guatemalan family to adopt him, that was not an option because he is "older" and has health issues, he's "undesireable". It is us OR life in an institution. Which, do you think, would be best for him?????

Concerning the missing children that passed the two DNA test: About the only way that I can think of that this could happen is for the doctor/packager at the USE to be in on the scam. This is an example of what is called in engineering a "single point of failure" where the process comes to a single point and it can entirely fail at that single point. The attorney found a doctor/packager that was willing to be bought off. One way to have prvented this would have been to randomly assign cases to the doctors/packagers. IN other words, when the doctor/packager comes in for week each morning, they have no idea which women/child pair they are going to be collecting samples for. A woman/child is assigned randomly to a doctor/packager. Another part of the solution could have been to use witnesses that watch each doctor. The witnesses could also be randomly assigned to doctor/samples each morning.

I hope that who ever is working out the new procedure thinks about these kinds of problems because a centralized system is also prone to single points of failure. In many respects, a centralized system is more prone to single points of failure.

REgards, Cheryl

I will clear up my statement.

I know that it would be in my daughter's best interest to stay with me because she is now almost 9 years old. Knowing her personality she would not survive emotionally being sent back to Guatemala, the adjustment it would take and her feeling of abandonment.

How do I know? Because I am her Mother.

I also stated that I feel for these women because I know I'd feel exactly the same way they do if she were taken from me.

How do I know? Because I am her Mother.

If the shoe were on the other foot what would I do at this point in her life? I would have no other choice but to let her stay.

How do I know? Because I am her Mother.

Let it be clear, I would do everything in my power to help ease the pain of the unknown by making contact and to let her know that her baby is OK. And, to let her know that her baby knows the sacrifice that we thought she made out of love and that she is still part of her life and always will be. That would be not only because it was the right thing to do but it would also be in my daughter's best interest .. which is paramount.

Why would I do that? Because WE are her Mothers.

It appears that US Embassy (USE) docters/sample packagers may have been in on some of the missing children's disappearances. There are ways that this could have been prevented. This is what is known in engineering as a single point of failure problem.

It would appear that an attorney bribed a USE docter/sample packager. If cases were randomly assigned to doctors/sample packagers, the attorney and doctor would have no way of knowing whether a particular case was going to be assigned to them. Also, the USE could have randomly assigned witnesses to over see each doctor/sample packager. These random assignments of doctors to cases and witnesses to doctors could be done every day. Then a double check of results back to the random assignments could be made to make sure that no doctor/sample packager snuck something in. Preferably, the random assignments and the comparisons between assignments and results would be performed by a computer.

Someone could still get around this by bribing the person who informs the doctors/witnesses of which cases they have been assigned and bribing the person that enters the results into the computer, but, a lot of people would have to be bribed which greatly reduces the probability that a corrupt attorney would be able to pull it off.

I hope that the design of the new centralized government system has precautions against single points of failure. A centralized government system in many ways would be even more prone to single points of failure than the old adoption process, which is a more distributed design.

Kindest Regards, Cheryl

El Ministerio Público solicitó retirar la inmunidad a Mario Fernando Peralta Castañeda, juez de Niñez y Adolescencia de Escuintla, sindicado de tramitar dos procesos anómalos de adopción de dos niñas, de 4 años; sin embargo, la Fiscalía presentó 20 expedientes más.

La acción legal fue interpuesta en el Centro Administrativo de Gestión Penal, de la Torre de Tribunales, por Rony López, jefe de la Fiscalía contra el Crimen Organizado, y el fiscal Álex Colop.

Peralta fue sindicado por trata de personas, conspiración, incumplimiento de deberes, abuso de autoridad y prevaricato.

“Se ha determinado que el juez —Peralta— no tomó en cuenta pruebas de ADN que evidenciaban que las niñas no eran hijas biológicas de las supuestas madres que las dieron en adopción”, comentó López.

Agregó que en esos expedientes también se hallaron cédulas y declaraciones falsas de las supuestas progenitoras, y que en los procesos de adopción están involucrados abogados y notarios.

Aparte de los dos expedientes de las menores, la Fiscalía presentó 20 procesos más, donde se presume que hay irregularidades en el trámite de las adopciones, y que alguno de esos casos tenga relación con el juez Peralta.

También hay evidencias en otros 20 casos, con lo cual sumarían más de 40 los expedientes que tienen anomalías.

La niña Karen Abigaíl López García fue robada por una mujer cuando jugaba en el patio de su vivienda, en Villa Hermosa, San Miguel Petapa, el 3 de noviembre del 2006. Por ese caso están procesados cuatro abogados, tres de ellos laboraron en la Procuraduría General de la Nación.

La sustracción de Jaira Nohemí Muñoz ocurrió en la zona 8. Varios sujetos la arrebataron de los brazos de su madre, en el 2007.

Las progenitoras de las menores presentaron la denuncia en la Fiscalía contra la Trata de Personas, para que accione contra los responsables del robo de sus hijas.

“Pedimos que se declare con lugar la petición de antejuicio, para iniciar las diligencias de investigación de manera concreta”, expresó López.

Peralta Castañeda no trabaja desde el 1 de julio último, por supuestos problemas de salud.

Ese juez consiguió que el Seguro Social lo suspendiera por problemas de hipertensión, e incluso estuvo ocho días hospitalizado.

Al intentar consultarlo en su teléfono celular, un familiar expresó que Peralta se encontraba muy enfermo y que no daría ninguna declaración.

Primera solicitud
Este es el segundo pedido de antejuicio contra Peralta. El 6 de mayo último, la Fundación Sobrevivientes solicitó que se le retirara la inmunidad, por declarar en abandono a Karen Abigaíl, adoptada por una familia en EE. UU.

Vladimir Aguilar, presidente de la Cámara de Amparos y Antejuicios, explicó que esa solicitud está en trámite, pero que espera que en esta semana se resuelva, para determinar si procede designar juez pesquisidor.