“Baby trafficking: 10-day-old for 5,000 euros,” Emirates, 1/18/2014
“Police in central Greece on Saturday said they had arrested seven people including five Bulgarians for attempted baby trafficking. “A police operation prevented the illegal adoption of a ten-day-old baby for the sum of 5,000 euros ($6,800),” police in the central city of Larissa said in a statement. The authorities...
18
Jan
2014
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“Child Abduction for Adoption: Poverty and Privilege Clash as a Child’s Return to Guatemala is Blocked”
A reflection on the Karen Abigail case over at RH Reality Check, by Karen Smith Rotabi: “Last year, a Guatemalan court ruled in favor of Loyda Rodriguez, who had asserted that her daughter had been kidnapped into child adoption, by ordering the that the child be returned to her biological...
26
Jul
2012
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Finding Fernanda in The American Prospect: “Adoption Fraud in Guatemala”
On September 29, 2011, EJ Graff’s blog over at The American Prospect’s website has an entry today entitled “Adoption Fraud in Guatemala” that talks about Finding Fernanda, and the US Embassy Guatemala cables I’ve obtained. An excerpt: Last week, I discussed some of the fraud and corruption that haunt international...
29
Sep
2011
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Under Threat of Lawsuit, Celebrate Children International becomes “Celebrate Children”
Another surprise in the latest batch of public records from the Florida Department of Children and Families: Celebrate Children International, Incorporated has shortened their name to “Celebrate Children” after another nonprofit, Children International, Incorporated, threatened them with a lawsuit. Here’s what the note in the state of Florida’s licensing file...
19
Jul
2011
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Mexico Adoption Bust Reveals Vast Child Trafficking Ring
A child trafficking ring uncovered by Mexican police in mid-January in Guadalajara, Jalisco, has not only operated since the 1980′s, a decade earlier than previously reported, but has also provided hundreds of children to adoptive families in other countries. The story began unraveling on January 9, 2012, after 21-year-old Laura...
09
May
2012
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20+ Ethiopian Orphanages Reportedly Shut Down
Four days ago, the US Department of State issued an adoption alert about the alleged closing of the Mussie Child Care Center (also known as the Mussie Orphanage) in Hosana, Ethiopia. The State Department said they were simply relating info from adoption agencies, expressing that there hadn’t been any kind...
25
Jul
2011
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Sue Hedberg of Celebrate Children International and “Florida Trend”
The piece “Whose Standards?” by Amy Keller was published in Florida Trend, November 1, 2010. Click here to read the whole article, which focuses on lapses in regulation, and Celebrate Children International. For this piece, Keller asked me some questions about CCI, and also interviewed Sue Hedberg via email (among...
09
Jun
2011
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Book Review: “Finding Fernanda” in the Miami Herald
The Miami Herald says that Finding Fernanda is “comprised of heavy-duty investigative reporting and compelling personal testimony.” Here’s an excerpt from their great review: “But the book — comprised of heavy-duty investigative reporting and compelling personal testimony — also examines another mystery: How could so many people in Guatemala and...
11
Dec
2011
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Book Review: “Finding Fernanda” in the Christian Science Monitor
A lengthy new review in this week’s Christian Science Monitor says of Finding Fernanda, “…Reads like a mystery novel, but the facts it reveals are hauntingly true… Siegal does a fantastic job of breaking down a complicated story… “Finding Fernanda” is a gripping read that offers glimpses of hope in what...
28
Nov
2011
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Interview on CBS Radio News
Dan Raviv, CBS Radio News correspondent, calls Finding Fernanda “a moving story” and says it will “really tug at your heartstrings.” To listen to Raviv’s interview with me, click here: http://audio.cbsradionewsfeed.com/2011/12/05/22/05CBSNEWSINTERVIEWRavivwithErinSiegal_1801_1971925.mp3...
05
Dec
2011
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Fighting Child Trafficking, Around the World & in Guatemala
The New York Times recently published an interactive infographic by Sarah Wheaton entitled “Fighting Human Trafficking, Country by Country,” on Monday August 30, 2011. You can click on a country, and an anti-trafficking poster created specifically for that country by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will pop up. The IOM anti-trafficking posters...
01
Sep
2011
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Feature Q & A, The Crime Report
The Crime Report has a front-page feature on Finding Fernanda today, an in-depth Q & A about the book. The full piece is available here: http://www.thecrimereport.org/news/inside-criminal-justice/2011-11-babies-for-sale-looking-at-the-adoption-industry-in...
21
Nov
2011
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Inside the Investigation: On Sources, Confidentiality, & Process
I’ve been doing research on Guatemalan adoptions since 2008, which grants me the privilege of having relationships with my sources that are based on trust built from repeated interviews, informal conversations, and interactions. Initially, I began general reporting on Guatemalan adoptions for my Master’s thesis at Columbia University’s Graduate School...
23
Aug
2011
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Finding Fernanda in The New Yorker
“I never meant to write a book; the story simply demanded it.” The New Yorker has a blog post up featuring 16 behind-the-scenes photos taken during the reporting of Finding Fernanda. Mildred Alvarado and one of her daughters during an interview,...
12
Nov
2011
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Finding Fernanda among Kickstarter’s First 10,000 Successful Projects
A year ago, a Kickstarter campaign in support of Finding Fernanda was in full swing while I tried to raise enough money to cover my expenses for one final month-long reporting trip to Guatemala. Within a week, so many people had chipped in that the campaign surpassed its $3,000 goal....
09
Aug
2011
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Full Court Order on Return of Adopted Guatemalan Child “Karen Abigail”
DOCUMENTS: Full 7/29/2011 court orders from Judge Angelica Noemi Tellez Hernández in Guatemala, ordering “Karen Abigail” returned to her birthmother (19 page .pdf). Provided courtesy Fundación Sobrevivientes. Click to download (español)....
05
Aug
2011
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“David v. Goliath, or birth mothers v. attorneys” -US Embassy Guatemala, 1996
From a November 1996 US Embassy cable: “…According to US immigration law, a child whose mother refused to voluntarily consent to an adoption clearly would not qualify as an “orphan.” As such, when a birth mother changes her mind and refuses to sign a relinquishment for the Embassy it generally...
01
Oct
2011
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“Congo suspends international adoptions, leaving dozens of children in limbo,” AP, 12/20/2013
“KINSHASA, Congo — The Congolese government has suspended international adoptions of Congolese children, following allegations that some were abandoned by their adoptive parents, while others were “sold to homosexuals.” The move by Congo further restricts foreign adoptions, following similar decisions by Russia and China.” Read the full story here: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/6dd4ce06e9b1448eaff1935c998bff69/AF-Congo-Adoptions-Suspended...
21
Dec
2013
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Guatemalan Judge Mario Fernanda Peralta Castañeda “Captured,” Found with 15 Illegal Weapons, Charged with Trafficking
At 6:00 a.m. this morning in Escuintla, Guatemala, a coordinated team consisting of agents from the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), the Ministerio Público, and the Guatemalan National Police (PNC) went to Judge Mario Fernando Peralta’s home and “captured” him, charging him with the following: “asociación ilícita, trata...
12
Aug
2011
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A Closer Look at Theresa Erickson’s San Diego “Baby-Selling Ring”
A “baby-selling ring” has been busted in Southern California. Here’s an excerpt from the FBI’s announcement yesterday: “…Theresa Erickson entered a guilty plea before United States Magistrate Judge William McCurine, Jr., in which she admitted to being part of a baby-selling ring that deceived the Superior Court of California and...
10
Aug
2011
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“…The great unanswered question has been what happened to the children.” -U.S. Embassy Guatemala
Excerpts from a February, 1995 cable from the US Embassy in Guatemala: “Post has been using DNA genetic testing in adoption cases for more than 18 months now, and thought it would be beneficial to share both our criteria for requesting testing as well as the results themselves with the...
28
Sep
2011
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A State Investigation of the State Investigations into CCI?
Carrie Hoeppner, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Children and Families, has been dealing with my numerous public records requests since January 2009. She’s somehow managed to be professional and helpful, no matter how much I ask for. Last week, I contacted DCF to inquire about the standing of Celebrate...
02
Aug
2011
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More surprises in latest batch of Celebrate Children International documents
The Florida Department of Children and Families provided 323 pages of new documents to me, containing the latest licensing information on the adoption agency Celebrate Children International. I’ve only begun sifting through everything, but this passage immediately jumped out at me from page 8. It’s information excerpted from a financial...
18
Jul
2011
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Inside the Courtroom: Anyelí Rodríguez/ “Karen Abigail” Human Trafficking Sentencing
Video from Prensa Libre, reported by Antonio Ixcot, photos by Érick Ávila, video by Daniele Volpe: And here’s a long clip of the judges reading the charges and sentence, posted by the nonprofit providing free legal counsel to the mother of the stolen child, Loyda Rodríguez:...
24
Oct
2011
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Is Celebrate Children International’s License Suspended in Ethiopia?
UPDATE 7/27/2011, 8:53 am: The Embassy is now saying that CCI’s is in fact still licensed. Breaking news this morning: according to the US Embassy, the Ethiopian government has suspended Celebrate Children International’s operating license. According to Celebrate Children International, this is untrue. Subject: FW: adoption/ orphanage closure Date: Tue, 26...
26
Jul
2011
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“Both alleged mothers met untimely and violent deaths soon after our investigation…” US Embassy Guatemala cable, June 1995
An excerpt from a June 1995 Cable from the US Embassy in Guatemala to Secretary of State in Washington, US Embassy Mexico, US Embassy Guangzhou, ARA Central America, American Consulate Rio de Janeiro, US Embassy Moscow, American Consulate Madras, US Embassy Bucharest, US Embassy Asuncion, & INS Washington DC. Subject: “The Integrity of Int’l Adoptions...
04
Oct
2011
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Q&A with Dawn Embrey, Caught in 5+ Year Irregular Adoption
The Embrey family began adopting two young sisters, ages 4 and 6, from Guatemala in 2007. The older girl was able to immigrate to the US in 2008, but the younger girl couldn’t. Her identity had been used once before in the adoption of a third child to a different...
03
Oct
2011
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Breaking: New Charges in Yajaira Noemí Muyus kidnapping for adoption case
Today, International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) released a statement today about progress in the “Yajaira Noemí Muyus” case. Juzgado Duodécimo de Primera Instancia Penal charged Guatemalan lawyer Juan Carlos Pinillos García and Procuraduría General de la Nación (PGN) official César Augusto Galicia Prera with conspiracy and trafficking in relation to the...
08
Jul
2011
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Florida Family Files Lawsuit Against Celebrate Children International; Alleges Misconduct
Adoptive parents Jeanna and Michael Malota filed a lawsuit on September 21, 2011 against Celebrate Children International (CCI), the adoption agency in my book, Finding Fernanda. The Malotas have accused CCI of false reporting, saying that the agency had hidden the fact that one of the children they offered to the...
03
Oct
2011
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Associated Press reports US “won’t return adopted girl snatched from Guatemalan mother;” Loyda Rodríguez may sue
Today, the Associated Press reports, the spokesperson for Guatemala’s Ministry of Exterior Relations, Celeste Alvarado, stated that the United States has presented a diplomatic note refusing to return the child now known as “Karen Abigail” to her mother in Guatemala. The objection, the AP reports, is based on the fact...
15
May
2012
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“Police in central Greece on Saturday said they had arrested seven people including five Bulgarians for attempted baby trafficking. “A police operation prevented the illegal adoption of a ten-day-old baby for the sum of 5,000 euros ($6,800),” police in the central city of Larissa said in a statement. The authorities said a 62-year-old Greek had attempted to arrange an illegal adoption with the aid of a lawyer in the central city of Volos… Read the full article here: http://www.emirates247.com/baby-trafficking-10-day-old-for-5-000-euros-2014-01-18-1.535186...
Erin Siegal McIntyre is an American photographer and writer. She is a Senior Fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, a Soros Justice Fellow, and a Redux Pictures photographer. She was a 2008-2009 fellow at the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Erin is the author of the award-winning book Finding Fernanda, (Beacon Press 2012), which examines organized crime and child trafficking in international adoption between Guatemala and the U.S. Previously, Erin wrote a column on public records and government accountability for the Columbia Journalism Review, “The FOIA Watchdog.” She’s contributed to various media outlets, including Univision, the New York Times, Time,Reuters, Newsweek, O Magazine, Businessweek, Rolling Stone, and more....
1. What is the TVPRA? The TVPRA is the Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act of 2011. It is the reauthorization of the original bill, the Trafficking Victim Protection Act of 2000, which was originally designed to combat human trafficking in the U.S. and establish it as a federal crime to traffic individuals into the country. It provides visa protection for victims and provides assistance for those who have been trafficked. You can find out more information here: http://www.ijm.org/justice-campaigns/tvpra. It is a crucial bill for those in the fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery. 2. What is Ethica’s proposed amendment? Although the...
WATCH THE FULL SHOW HERE: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/perilous-journey/ Saturday, January 18, 2014, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, the investigation and the book “Finding Fernanda” will be featured in an hour-long CBS special episode of “48 Hours” called “Perilous Journey.” Featuring investigative journalist Erin Siegal McIntyre, Betsy Emanuel, Mildred Alvarado, Alvarado’s children, and much more. Here’s the press release about the show, as published by Scoop: “Maureen Maher and 48 Hours investigate the sometimes-shady business of international child adoptions and the lengths families will go to bring children home to the United States in “Perilous Journey,” to be broadcast Saturday, Jan. 18 (10:00 PM,...
“KINSHASA, Congo — The Congolese government has suspended international adoptions of Congolese children, following allegations that some were abandoned by their adoptive parents, while others were “sold to homosexuals.” The move by Congo further restricts foreign adoptions, following similar decisions by Russia and China.” Read the full story here: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/6dd4ce06e9b1448eaff1935c998bff69/AF-Congo-Adoptions-Suspended...
“Finding Fernanda” is a book of investigative journalism. It’s the shocking story of $30,000 U.S. dollars, four Guatemalan “orphans,” one nonprofit evangelical Christian adoption agency, a family-run child-trafficking ring, one infant cut from her unconscious mother’s womb, two tiny missing sisters, and a nine-member Tennessee family who believed wholeheartedly in Christian love and faith—until the dark side of international adoption shattered their blind trust. It’s also the story of how one poor Guatemalan woman, Mildred Alvarado, reunited with her kidnapped daughters against all odds—and how the trusting American housewife slated to adopt one of those children, Elizabeth Emanuel, accidentally became...
Durante el conflicto armado, los militares capturaron miles de niños en las áreas donde aplicó la política de tierra arrasada. Considerados como niños huérfanos, o niños abandonados por la guerrilla, el ejército tuvo que encontrarles una salida, un destino. Hoy convertidos en adultos desarraigados, muchos de estos niños buscan a su familia. Algunos la han reencontrado, y pueden contar la historia de los niños que el ejército “rescató”. Read the full piece here: VÍCTIMAS DE LA GUERRA: Los niños que el ejército se llevó ...
“Beijing, Nov 26 (IANS) Two ringleaders of a baby trafficking gang in China have been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. Cai Liaochao and Chen Hongfeng, of the gang based in Ya’an of southwestern Sichuan province, were accused of selling 14 babies between July 2010 and May 2011, the Shanghai Daily reported Monday.” Read the full story here: http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/11/26/246-Baby-traffickers-get-death-sentence-in-China-.html ...
Families across the country have trusted a Santa Clara County man to help adopt Ukrainian children. But there are concerns that aren’t getting full story when it comes to the kids’ mental health. The family profiled in this story thought they were adopting healthy children from the Ukraine, a boy and a girl. They found out later the kids actually came from a mental institution and have serious problems. How could they not know before opening their hearts and their homes? Read the full story here: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=8892011...
“Egyptian police say they have broken up a child trafficking ring that sold almost 300 babies for $US570 ($A550) each or less. A police official said on Sunday officers had arrested five suspects, including two nurses and a doctor working at the Cairo hospital where the babies were sold for almost three years. Police are searching for the hospital manager who escaped arrest. The official said the network also performed caesarian operations on women who had left it too late for an abortion of an unwanted child in exchange for allowing the doctors to sell the babies, usually to couples...
“Russian investigators have cracked a ring of human traffickers that specialized in selling babies in the country’s volatile North Caucasus region, Moscow’s Investigative Committee said on Thursday.” Read the full story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/01/us-russia-trafficking-northcaucasus-idUSBRE8A013620121101...
“A couple, who could not have children, have been told by the High Court they can keep a baby born in Nigeria, despite tests showing they were not the child’s biological parents. The mother said she was tricked by a doctor into believing she had given birth while sedated, after she went to Nigeria for fertility treatment.” Read the full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19996987...
“Buying of babies for adoption by childless couples contributes to the occurrence of baby trafficking in this country. Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister Datuk Heng Seai Kie (pic) said the other contributing factors to this racket were poverty, unpaid debts, giving birth to babies out of wedlock or just deliberate selling of babies to make quick money. Heng said according to the statistics, there were 32 baby trafficking cases recorded in the country since 2010, comprising 13 cases in 2010, 11 in 2011 and eight in the first seven months of 2012.” Read the full article: http://www.malaysiandigest.com/news/36-local2/131982-demand-for-babies-for-adoption-contributes-to-baby-trafficking-.html...
“AFTER the birth of a child to a Spanish couple in 1978, a Catholic nun informed the parents that the child had died, but she would not allow the father to see the body. Yesterday, a provincial court in Madrid ordered an investigation into the case, believed to be one of hundreds of child-snatchings by clerics, nuns and doctors in Spain from the 1940s until the early 1990s. Children were taken from their parents and sold to other couples. Ordering the reopening of the case, the court ruled that there is no statute of limitations on “illegal detention charges” under Spanish law.”...
DOWNLOAD: 3,726 pages of documents about the adoption agency Celebrate Children International. Source: Florida Department of Children and Families. Total file size: 99.2 MB. File type: .pdf. | PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7 | PART 8 | PART 9 | PART 10 | PART 11 | PART 12 | PART 13 | PART 14 | DOWNLOAD: 705 pages of documents about corruption in international adoptions between Guatemala and the United States, 1987-2010. Source: U.S. Embassy Guatemala and U.S. Department of State. File size: 83.2 MB....
GRAPHIC: 24.KG news agency “Intelligence agencies of Kyrgyzstan have released a corrupt scheme of child adoption by foreign citizens, Anti-Corruption Service under the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) informed 24.kg news agency . According to the Anti-Corruption Service (ACS), the scheme looks like: a foreign married couple pays for adoption services from $35 to $50 thousands to a firm. This sum is spent on receiving of Kyrgyzstan’s staying visa and settling of legal issues. In its turn, every foreign international adoption organization gets certificate for the right to engage in this activity in Kyrgyzstan. As to investigation, officials of the Ministry...
A quick piece from Guatemala’s Prensa Libre, on the fake birthmother in the “Karen Abigail” kidnapping/ illegal adoption case in court: “Sandra Noemí Maldonado Velásquez, acusada de pertenecer a una red que captaba niños para darlos en adopción ilegal, debe enfrentar juicio por trata de personas, asociación ilícita, uso de documentos falsificados, supresión y alteración del estado civil, falsificación ideológica y usurpación del estado civil….” Link to article: http://www.prensalibre.com/noticias/justicia/Ira-juicio-adopcion-ilegal_0_755324501.html ...
“A human rights organization says it has reunited the 106th child abducted during Argentina’s 1970s “Dirty War” with his biological family. The Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo has announced that Pablo Javier Gaona Miranda has come forward over 30 years since he was separated from his parents in May 1978, BBC reported…” Read the full piece here: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/baby-stolen-argentina-dirty-war-back-biological-family-article-1.1133088...
“The veneer of philanthropy regarding intercountry adoption is beginning to fade as issues are more broadly and better understood, and a dangerous connection to child trafficking becomes more prominent. It is worrying for Africa then that it has been dubbed the ‘new frontier’ for intercountry adoption by the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF). Despite global rates falling to a 15-year low, Africa has experienced with a threefold rise in intercountry adoption cases in the last eight years….” Read the full article here: http://allafrica.com/stories/201208061002.html...
