ADA News (English)

According to the Adoptions Law that became effective in January 1st. 2008, adoptions started before that date can be finalized according to the old rules, provided they were registered at the Consejo Nacional de Adopciones. After a marathonic race to register those adoptions at the CNA, the notaries were able to submit the adoption files at the PGN, or to resubmit those cases that were rejected for any reason. Until a few days ago, the PGN respected the law, at least with regard to the approval of the adoption cases (after many reviews and rejections, and an average of two months after submission).

We have been waiting for the National Council of Adoption to start to work, which does not mean to have a functional system up and running. We mean the literal meaning of the word work, which is what we expect them to do, since they were appointed to do a job not just to hold press conferences and criticize what the notaries or the PGN has been doing. The CNA claims that they have not done anything because they do not have the funds to do it. The official newspaper published two weeks ago the executive order to release the funds for it, stating that eight of the ten million quetzals granted to the CNA are for salaries, the rest is for the implementation of the CNA, and not a penny is for the care of the children who are cared by the private institutions who will no longer support them, for lack of the adoptions income.

Mario Gordillo was fired as Attorney General, not only because he was so corrupt, embezzled the funds of the PGN taking his wife and children in long trips to different countries, and broke the law in more ways than one, but also because it was necessary for the CNA to have an ally at the PGN, and Gordillo refused to obey the orders of Elizabeth Hernandez de Larios, who has self-appointed as President of the CNA

The new Attorney General, Baudilio Portillo Merlos was selected by Carlos Larios for that position and it was expected that he would show his appreciation by following the instructions of the wife of his benefactor. When Elizabeth de Larios was appointed as chief of the Central Authority in 2003, not a single case was processed. Her intentions, as she had no qualms in expressing them, were that the Central Authority would finish the in process cases and collect the second part of the fee owed to the notaries. When she was told that the notaries did not pocket the whole fee, that the legal expenses and taxes, medical bills and care of the children have to be covered with that amount, she said that the notaries would have to get donations to cover those expenses. She was told that there was not way that she could pull that off. Thanks to the successful constitutional challenges against the illegal accession to the Hague Convention, Elizabeth de Larios could not get away with her plans.

Some years later, after Elizabeth de Larios and her husband Carlos supported Alvaro Colom, are being rewarded for their efforts. Carlos Larios has been as appointed Chief of Staff of Alvaro Colom and Elizabeth is the legal advisor to the wife of Alvaro, the very powerful Sandra Torres Casanova. It seems that Elizabeth de Larios has not lost her fantasy of collecting the second part of the adoption fees on all the cases, so after getting rid of the people of Wendy de Berger, she got herself appointed as delegate of the Secretariat of Social Welfare and is ready to take over.

The lawyer who was appointed instead of Barrios is a very respected lawyer, Flory de Leon who was stopped from releasing the already approved files by the new Attorney General, who told her that Elizabeth de Larios called him to tell him that not a single file should be released to the notaries, because the National Council for Adoptions will review them. Some days ago, in a case where there were some inconsistencies in the birth certificates of two children, the PGN notified the NCA, who summoned the notary, the biological mothers and both children. Only one of the birth mothers was located, but regardless of the presence of the other birth mother, both children were taken away and placed who knows where.

President Alvaro Colom will meet with the Congressional Coalition of Adoption Institute, on Tuesday 29th. This is the moment to call your representatives in Congress to support the article 56 of the Adoption Law that removes the adoptions registered before the National Council of Adoption, from their scope. We are not asking for special favors, we are just expecting that everybody respects that adoptions in process must be approved by the PGN, not by the NCA and that the time to give an opinion is of three days, not two months or more.

According to the ever biased and anti adoptions Prensa Libre, an organization funded by UNICEF with the sole purpose of disrupting adoptions, named “Movimiento Social de los Derechos de la Ninez, la Adolescencia y la Juventud” is asking for protection for the 2,398 children who were registered with the NCA and whose adoptions are still pending approval,. Their allegations are also supported by the same people of Casa Alianza who aided and abetted the unspeakable behavior of Bruce Harris and who could not protect the children under their care of the abuses of their director. Ignoring the fact that a child needs to pass a second DNA test before getting the visa to travel to The United States, they are claiming that the notaries filed a lot of inexistent adoptions, in order to present later another child. Elizabeth de Larios is echoing this allegations and as a result of that plans to summon the notary who will have to come to them, with the birthmother and the child being adopted. The article is at http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2008/abril/25/234342.html

Today, the PGN posted a sign stating that all adoptions are suspended until further notice. On Monday, all lawyers and notaries who have pending cases must go to the PGN to talk to the Attorney General, and explain to him, that is sweet of him to be so grateful to those who gave him the job, but that he can express his gratitude with a heartfelt thanks and do his job according to the law. In case he does not remove the sign and continues withholding the adoption files, all sort of legal actions will be filed against him. Agencies and parents must tell their lawyers and notaries to be at the PGN at nine in the morning this coming Monday April 28th.

There is no need to panic, because we will not let the NCA take over the children. But it is good that the Central Authority is showing their true colors, so everybody stops believing that they have the best interest of the children at heart. They are not trying to set up a system to enable needy children to find shelter now and safe, loving, permanent homes later. They are just trying to harvest the fruits of the work that they did not do and make adoptions as difficult as possible and will succeed only if all of us who want pending adoptions to be finalized, let them do it.

Susana Luarca