Facebook Twitter Email
der=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 width=100%> Adoptions a big concern
JUNE 5, 2000

Child stealing is a common problem in Guatemala, especially among poorer Mayan communities. A March 31 report to the United Nations' Human Rights Commission in Geneva states that children in Guatemala are seen as "objects of trade and commerce" and charges that lawyers, doctors, and judges are creating a system of adoption fraud that robs women of their children. The business of adoption in the country is $20 million.

A Japanese tourist and a tour bus driver were recently beaten to death in a Mayan community after residents believed the tourists were kidnapping children. An American journalist was also killed in 1994.

Get the Story:
Robbing the cradle: Illegal baby trade a national dishonor for Guatemala (The Seattle Times 6/5)
Attack leaves two dead (Global 05/12)