Force, Fraud, and Coercion in Some Guatemalan Adoptions: High-profile Abduction Cases Challenge the ‘Best Interests of the Child’

Abstract

Guatemala has an unfortunate and notorious history of intercountry adoption fraud, dating back to the war years (1960-1996) and continuing until The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption was ratified in 2007. Some child adoptions from the nation, mainly bound to the USA, have serious irregularities and/or illegal characteristics including force, fraud, and coercion. These human trafficking dynamics are considered with an emphasis on alleged child abduction cases in the context of violence against women and impunity. The involvement of human rights defenders and hunger protests are presented to illustrate the determination of three particular mothers and their advocates seeking justice for child abduction. A failure to move the cases forward due to the USA government’s unwillingness to collaborate on law enforcement is discussed, including dynamics of the hidden structures of organized crime. The best interests of the child principle is applied to child abduction for adoption.