An 82-year-old Belgian woman who kidnapped at least 14 children from Guatemala appears in court: "I have no idea where or when I was born. Who am I?"

"I didn't do anything wrong," she maintains to this day. But according to the presiding judge in Mons, there's ample evidence that Michèle H., now 82, from Tournai, kidnapped at least 14 children from Guatemala and trafficked them to unsuspecting adoptive families in Belgium. "It turns out my biological mother isn't my mother, but the mother of another kidnapped adopted child who now lives in Belgium. But who am I then?" asks Eva Langenus (41).

Bjorn Maeckelbergh

October 30, 2025, 10:00 AM Last update: 10:12 AM

I currently don't know where I was born, nor when. Actually, I know nothing. Except that black-and-white photo of the woman in my file is definitely fake. (hesitantly) I've cherished that image for years. But she's not my mother.

Eva Langenus's adoption file contained a single black-and-white photo of her supposed biological mother. "I cherished that image for years and hoped to meet her someday. But it's all fake." © rv

Eva Langenus from Zemst is 41 today. She was three months old when she was adopted in 1984 through the non-profit organization Hacer Puente. For years, she believed her biological parents had voluntarily relinquished her nearly 10,000 kilometers away because they couldn't care for her. That's what her file stated. But it's now clear that it was fabricated from start to finish.

150 adoptions

From 1985 to 1990, the Belgian organization Hacer Puente rescued young children from Guatemala, a neighboring country of Mexico. In total, this involved around 150 children. Adoption through them was much less complex and took much less time than with other organizations. The head of Hacer Puente is Michèle H., a woman now 82 years old who lives in a fifth-floor apartment near the Grand Place in Tournai. Her three lawyers did everything they could to ensure she wouldn't have to appear in court. To this day, she denies everything. But according to the presiding judge in Mons, there is sufficient evidence that the woman was guilty of kidnapping, forgery, and membership in a criminal gang. The Belgian woman allegedly conspired with a sister-in-law of dictator Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores.

Stay informed

Get notified of important breaking news messages.

If H. doesn't appeal the chamber's decision, she will have to appear before a criminal court. She faces a prison sentence of up to twenty years.

Eva Langenus arrived in Belgium as a baby from Guatemala through the Hacer Puente adoption organization. © rv

Milestone

"Her referral to the criminal court is an important milestone in the recognition of what was done to us," says Eva Langenus. For the past few years, she has been trying to piece together the puzzle of her origins. "It all started with a phone call from someone asking for feedback about my illegal file. I was taken aback. What do you mean, illegal file?" Eva Langenus says the years-long search was an emotional rollercoaster. "There were very happy moments. But also many less so."

For a while, Eva Langenus thought she had found her biological mother. She met the woman in Guatemala. The woman told Eva Langenus she was so happy to have found her again. That they had taken her away from her back then. "Everything seemed to fit. I was euphoric. But DNA testing has since revealed that she isn't my mother, but the mother of someone else from Guatemala who was adopted and now lives in Belgium. So she was kidnapped too. That was very difficult for me."

Eva Langenus is 41 today. “I try not to hope too much that I will ever find my biological mother.” © ID/ Felix Rabou

She pauses. "I was born before the digital age. So now, nothing can be found about my birth. I try not to hold out too much hope that I'll ever find my biological mother." Eva Langenus says she receives a lot of support from her adoptive parents. "They're behind me. They were just pawns of that organization, which took advantage of their desire to have a child and their kindness."

According to the authorities, there are indications that Michèle H. is involved in the kidnapping of at least 14 young children from Guatemala. "There are probably many more," says Eva Langenus. "However, the investigators cannot prove it." The authorities have evidence that several biological mothers of children from Guatemala never gave their consent for adoption. Their children's records were falsified. Many children were given an incorrect date of birth, a different place of birth, a modified family situation, and their names, or those of their mothers, were spelled differently or even changed completely. A high-ranking source in the investigation: "Many adoptions at Hacer Puente were based on one big lie."

Sloppiness

In recent years, several people from Guatemala who were adopted in Belgium have testified. One of them described how Hacer Puente's file was full of "sloppy" details. Sometimes her mother's name ended with an M, other times with an N. Sometimes the woman was 20, other times 22. Based on the name in the file, the Belgian woman searched the internet. She found dozens of women with the same name. Suddenly, she saw a photo of a woman who looked exactly like her. She didn't dare write to the woman directly, but she did send a message to her daughter, presumably an older sister of the Belgian woman. She included a copy of the mother's identity card from her file.

It was bingo. Six weeks later, the Belgian woman met her mother in Guatemala. For 31 years, the woman had been lied to, believing her child had died in the hospital. When she asked to see the body so she could bury her child, she was told her child was already in a mass grave.

Yet another woman, adopted by a Belgian couple, who went to Guatemala to find her real mother, discovered the extent to which her birth certificate had been falsified. The woman listed as her mother in her file was actually the woman who had kidnapped her. At the time, her real mother lived directly across the street from the kidnapper. DNA testing has since confirmed that this woman is indeed her biological mother.

Recognition

Eva Langenus has never had any contact with the Belgian mastermind Michèle H. from Tournai. She did, however, see her in a photo on Facebook. The woman is holding a grandchild. Langenus: “I’ve been to three court hearings. I actually hoped to see her there someday. But she never showed up. One time, none of her lawyers were even there. It seems to me like she doesn’t consider it all important enough. Does she really not realize the impact this has on our lives?” Langenus says she has few illusions about a possible punishment if the 82-year-old suspect is convicted. “For me and many others, it’s mainly about recognition. About what was done to us.”