Guatemala reanuda adopciones internacionales y cada niño será supervisado hasta por 2 años

Guatemala will resume international adoptions starting in January 2027 with the U.S., El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic.

The National Adoption Council (CNA) asserts that after a two-decade suspension, the country has eliminated the notarial adoption system, which was plagued by corruption and child trafficking. Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Canada have prohibited their citizens from adopting Guatemalan children until Guatemala implements the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.

The adoption law has been in effect since 2007, following decades in which adoptions were a business: they could cost up to US$40,000. The United Nations even requested an investigation into former Attorney General Consuelo Porras, on suspicion of involvement in irregular adoptions.

Estuardo Mexicano, director of the CNA, points out the progress: a specific law for the Attorney General's Office; the certification of foster families; the supervision of homes to rule out a history of irregular processes; in addition, post-adoption follow-up:

"There are already enough filters to establish the legality of children in a state of adoptability, that their origin is well determined through an investigation by the Attorney General's Office."  

The National Children's Council (CNA) reports 4,000 children without parents or guardians in 101 public and private homes. Of these, 420 are eligible for adoption, and 92% are considered priority cases: sibling groups, children with medical needs or disabilities, or children over 6 years old. Nationwide, there are 120 families who qualify for adoption, but they have shown interest in healthy children between 0 and 2 years old.

Camilo López, director of the "Jesus, Shelter and Refuge" Home in Chimaltenango, one of the 83 privately run homes, celebrates the resumption of international adoption processes. His home welcomed Esaú and Naomi, two children with spina bifida and leg disabilities, whom an American missionary couple wanted to adopt.

The family that wanted to adopt already has three adopted children; in fact, two of them are already in college. The couple is under 50 years old. We saw an opportunity for the children, but nothing could be done, and the children were transferred to another home that specializes in caring for them. But it's a very good opportunity in some cases.

The children come from mothers with mental illnesses and have no relatives to adopt them.

The director of the CNA points out that adoption is the last resort, not the rule. Gone are the days when up to 5,000 adoptions were approved annually. Today, in two decades, only about 2,000 domestic adoptions have been finalized.  

This year they expect to finalize the technical guidelines and procedures manual for international adoptions. Simultaneously, they are in talks with authorities in the United States, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic to sign cooperation agreements. The official emphasized that the new model incorporates follow-up. 

"Children who go for international adoption do undergo monitoring through a post-adoption process… this procedure lasts two years with reports every six months. Most of the children we have—83 sibling groups, around 270 children and adolescents—are from different age groups, but the age difference makes things difficult because some people want the 5-year-old, but not the 15-year-old. And the adoption law contains a principle of not separating siblings, because siblings are all they have, and separating them would be another loss."

Between 2001 and 2009, the U.S. adopted 117,000 children of different nationalities: Guatemala gave up 29,662.