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DNA tests identify stolen baby
GUATEMALA CITY - Adoption officials said yesterday that DNA tests show that a Guatemalan baby reported stolen from her mother was being adopted by a U.S. couple, the first strong sign that the Central American nation's troubled adoption system relied in part on abducted children.
Authorities have long believed that children were stolen or bought to supply Guatemala's $100 million-a-year adoption industry before all 2,286 pending adoptions were frozen in May.
Previously, dozens of mothers reported stolen babies, and at least two were found in orphanages, though they had not yet been put up for adoption.
Adoption officials said DNA tests identified toddler Esther Zulamita, who was reported stolen in March 2007. The girl was in the process of being adopted by an unidentified U.S. couple.
