Guatamala Suspends Adoptions

The authorities in Guatemala have suspended the adoption of some 2,300 children by foreigners for at least a month to check for irregularities.

Officials said each case would be reviewed to see if the babies were genuinely being offered for adoption by their birth mothers.

In recent months, Guatemala has taken steps to improve its adoption system, plagued by fraud and corruption.

Last year, some 5,000 children were adopted, most of them by US parents.

In January, a new law took effect in Guatemala to comply with an international treaty on inter-country adoptions.

The legislation included having a central body to oversee adoptions, allowing only accredited adoption agencies and imposing a transparent fee system.

The government had been under pressure to curb a controversial trade where intermediaries could be paid thousands of dollars to arrange an adoption.

Shiny_Metal_Ass said:
I work with about 20 guys from Guatemala. They tell me the place is pretty much a shithole run by neighborhood gangs and drug lords with little to no functioning government. No wonder they pack themselves 20 to a house. Even with the economy in the shitter, we're still better off than most of the world. People really seem to have no clue how good they have it here.