The following letter was provided to PEAR for publication at large. It follows up CICIG's request for clarification from Senator Landrieu on her comments questioning the legitimacy of the CICIG report
Players Involved in the Illegal Adoption Process in Guatemala since the Entry into Force of the Adoption Law referenced in our blog on May 4, 2011 - http://pear-now.blogspot.com/2011/05/cicigs-report-on-players-involved-in.html. Senator Landrieu has not yet made a statement clarifying her position on the CICIG report.
Dear Senator Landrieu,
During your short visit at the end of April to Guatemala, your agenda did not include Fundacion Sobrevivientes. As a result, I am writing this letter on behalf of the organization as well as the women of Guatemala who suffer living in the most violent country in the Western Hemisphere. We have the shameful statistic of two deaths of every day as a result of femicide, in addition to countless rapes and alarming rates of domestic violence. All of these social problems fuel human trafficking. On the issue of human sales, I am writing on behalf of the mothers who have lost their children to human trafficking, including illegal intercountry adoptions. I am currently very concerned about three specific cases—three young girls we know as Karen Abigail, Heidi, and Arlen Scarlett.
Since we share the same opinion that criminals must be prosecuted, especially those who were involved with illegal adoptions from Guatemala, I know that you will be sympathetic to these cases. In regards to progress on that mission, I am happy to report that a notorious adoption attorney, Susana Luarca was just arrested last week for her involvement with the case of Karen Abigail. While this is a good step forward, Luarca’s arrest is just one of many that are necessary to prosecute the criminals involved in the hidden structures of organized crime and adoptions in Guatemala. Given your commitment to justice, I am asking for your assistance in our quest for further criminal hearings. As I am sure that you know, the Government of Guatemala made a formal request to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for the DNA tests of Karen Abigail, Heidi, and Arlen Scarlett. Their mothers Loyda, Raquel, and Olga ask that you use your influence and passion for ethical adoptions to help move this cause forward. This DNA request, dating back five years now, has yet to receive a satisfactory response from DOJ. We still await test results to legally and officially verify the child abductions and confirm the whereabouts of the girls in the USA.
Further, in the USA, we need a collaborative law enforcement response above and beyond the DNA tests. We have reason to believe that Celebrate Children International (CCI) adoption agency of Florida was involved in the aforementioned illegal adoptions. I assume that you know there are well over a thousand documents related to complaints and other documentation on file with the state of Florida licensing board in regards to this agency (CCI). As we say in Guatemala, there is a “mountain” of evidence indicating this agency’s poor practices and illegal activities taking place in my country. Another agency is Felicity Children in Miami and we suspect, like CCI, that this agency was also involved in illegal adoptions. Finally, others who must be investigated include social worker Elizabeth Thomas-Colwell who was formerly a licensed social worker (LCSW) in the state of Illinois. Again we have reason to believe that she was involved poor practices and potentially illegal adoptions.
Finally, as you know, the UN Commission on Impunity has been an incredibly important organization in Guatemala as we struggle for justice and fight against organized crime. Their December 2010 report on adoptions from Guatemala, including an extensive review of records and sampling of cases, was an important landmark in moving forward in the prosecutions of those involved in illegal adoptions. I understand that you are not in agreement with their findings. I am sure that you know that the Commission has asked for a response from you in regards to your recent comments. As I stand by the integrity of the research and the report itself, I too am requesting a formal response from you so that you may clarify your position. Please see the English version of the report at http://findingfernanda.com/2011/04/cicigs-december-2010-adoption-report-english-spanish/ and the follow-up request for a response at http://findingfernanda.com/2011/04/cicig-responds-to-senator-landrieu/
In closing, we anticipate another hunger protest on behalf of the three mothers and their daughters. We hope that you will join us in solidarity, at least in spirit. If you want to know more about our 2009 hunger protest, please see: http://www.socmag.net/?p=540
I appreciate your response to this open letter.
Sincerely,
Norma Cruz
2008 “Woman of Courage” Recipient awarded by the US Department of State
Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/
PRESS RELEASE 030
CICIG REQUESTS PUBLIC EXPLANATION FROM SENATOR LANDRIEU (LOUISIANA STATE, U.S.A.) CONCERNING COMMENTS MADE ON REPORT OF ILLEGAL ADOPTIONS IN GUATEMALA.
During her visit to Guatemala, the Senator met with various authorities responsible for child protection and manifested her disagreement with the CICIG´s report on criminal structures involved in illegal adoptions.
Guatemala, 27 April 2011. The Guatemalan media edition of Prensa Libre, dated 26 April 2011 (pages 4 and 5), published a story about the visit of U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu which reads: “Landrieu said she does not share all of CICIG´s findings presented in a report in late 2010, detailing abnormalities in the adoption processes which are still in transition between the previous and the current law.”
The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala publicly requests Senator Landrieu to provide evidence to the Guatemalan society on which she bases her comments to disqualify the content of the “Report on actors involved in the process of illegal adoptions in Guatemala.” She was also invited to explain to the Guatemalan society her position concerning the numerous adoptions of children illegally taken away from their biological parents.
CICIG informs the public opinion that the report is a result of the work of a team of professional experts who analyzed for 18 months over 3,342 notarial notices from the records of the Attorney General’s Office (PGN) related to adoption processes: 1,412 issued by the PGN and the National Council on Adoptions (CNA); 879 requests and protection measure processes from the Youth and Children Courts; and 153 declarations of adoptability issued by the Courts of Children and Adolescents. Furthermore, more than 50 criminal investigations conducted by the Public Ministry (MP) were analyzed in relation to the crime of trafficking in persons for illegal adoption.
From the analysis of the data gathered, it was found that over 60% of the processes for adoption contained abnormalities such as theft and illegal purchase/sale of children, threats and deception to biological mothers, and forgery of documents to carry out “adoption processes” both before and after the entry into force of the Adoption Law (31 December 2007). In many cases there are multiple and clear indications that the illegal procedures were promoted by transnational organized crime who acted along with the participation or acquiescence of state officials. Currently, the Public Ministry investigates more than 325 adoption processes which present serious irregularities.
In its report, the CICIG is able to determine the modus operandi of transnational organized crime networks involved in trafficking of children through illegal adoptions. Since that report, the CICIG was also able to determine that an international adoption in Guatemala, rather than representing a way of procuring a family to an unprotected child, often has become a mechanism for delivering children to those who request and pay, turning such institution into a lucrative form of human trafficking which is an offense under the Penal Code in Guatemala.
Among the many findings stated in the CICIG report, it is established that only 10% of Guatemalan children who were placed for adoption between 2007 and 2010 were in an orphaned or abandoned situation.
Moreover, specific cases were identified in which the representatives and/or facilitators of international adoption agencies in Guatemala were aware of the illicit origin of the children placed for adoption and yet continued illegal processes through altered DNA tests, deception and threats to biological mothers, and the use of forged documents.
CICIG supports that the international adoptions are an option of life for those children who need it. However, given that the pending processes have serious irregularities, CICIG supports the position of PGN, CNA and MP – competent institutions on the issue – and in particular promotes that each adoption process approved individually, as a minimum, should establish the following: (1) lawful origin of the child; (2) ratification of the biological mother´s consent; (3) determination of paternity through DNA testing; and (4) veracity of the identity of the child and the mother.
CICIG reiterates its firm commitment to continue supporting the Guatemalan institutions, including the Attorney General’s Office, the National Council on Adoptions and the Public Ministry, in its fight to eradicate illegal adoptions and to combat impunity.http://www.guatemala-times.com/news/guatemala/2257-cicig-requests-explanation-from-us-senator-landrieu-regarding-illegal-adoption-comments-in-guatemala.html