Police raid on Guatemala home nets 21 babies readied for illegal adoption
By W. E. GUTMAN
GUATEMELA CITY -- Acting on a tip, a police raid on a Guatemalan children's home in Guatemala City last week in which 21 babies under the age of two were found being processed for illegal adoption, resulted in the arrest of two people, one of them a lawyer.
The children's home "
Nuevo Amanacer," in the capital's Zone 1, was ordered closed. Police arrested
Feliciano Carillo Gudiel,47, and attorney
Ruth Emilsa Alvarado Espana, 38. Unable to certify the origin of the babies -- some only two days old -- the pair was charged with "apropiacion indebida de menores de edad" (unlawful procurement of minors).
Police also found reams of blank letterheads signed by lawyer Alvarado Espana and bearing the official seal of "Hogar Nuevo Amanacer."
According to the official police report, authorities believe the lawyer and legal representative of this children's home also "participated in the legalization of false documents for the process of adoptions."
The infants were taken into protective custory by the children's section of the Public Ministry.