Anyeli Hernandez Rodriguez, Girl Allegedly Kidnapped And Adopted, Will Not Return To Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY — A Guatemalan mother who says her child was stolen and later turned over to a U.S. couple for adoption said Tuesday that she will go to a Missouri court seeking to get her daughter back now that the U.S. State Department has said it doesn't have jurisdiction to help return the girl.

The State Department confirmed Tuesday that it has informed Guatemala's government that it can't help return Anyeli Hernandez Rodriguez because the U.S. and Guatemala had not signed the Hague Abduction Convention at the time of the alleged kidnapping in 2006.

"We're obviously deeply concerned about allegations regarding stolen children and inter-country adoptions wherever these cases come up," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement. "We consider the appropriate venue in the United States for pursuing this case is in the state courts. They're the competent organ for holding a full hearing on the merits and the best interests of the child."

A human rights group that has pursued the case in Guatemala's courts on behalf of the child's biological mother, Loyda Rodriguez, said the next step will be to find a U.S. law firm to file a civil suit charging immigration fraud.

The group, the Survivor Foundation, doesn't allege that the adoptive couple knew anything about the girl being kidnapped. It argues only that the adoption in 2008 wasn't valid because of the abduction and the girl should be returned to her biological mother.

In a phone conversation with The Associated Press, Rodriguez said she still has hope she will be reunited with her little girl, now 7, who she hasn't seen since she was 2.

"I'm looking for a law firm that will pursue this in the courts in the United States," she said. "Even if she can't come home, to at least be able to have contact with her."

Anyeli was born Oct. 1, 2004, the second child of Rodriguez, a housewife, and her bricklayer husband, Dayner Orlando Hernandez. She disappeared Nov. 3, 2006, as Rodriguez was distracted while opening the door to their house in a working class suburb, San Miguel Petapa. She turned to see a woman whisk the girl away in a taxi.

The girl spent over a year at an adoption agency before being adopted by Timothy and Jennifer Monahan of Liberty, Missouri.

Rodriguez obtained a Guatemalan court order last July for the return of Anyeli, who left the country on Dec. 9, 2008, according to court records. The court ruled that the girl had been stolen from her family.

A public relations firm the Monahans hired said last year that they "will continue to advocate for the safety and best interests of their legally adopted child." Their lawyer declined to comment Tuesday.

An attorney and the legal representative of the Guatemalan agency that handled the adoption were both convicted of human trafficking last fall. A third woman was detained and charged last month with trafficking, conspiracy and forgery in connection with the adoption.

"When Guatemalan authorities determined the adoption was illegal, it nullified all of the child's fraudulent documentation that was used to process her adoption. This includes her Guatemalan passport, which she used to exit the country," said Fredy Coti, a lawyer at the Survivors Foundation.

Coti believes that gives the case grounds for a hearing in Missouri state court.

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Comments

[LaFemmeSASE]

01:16 PM on 05/25/2012

Why is HuffPo hiding this story in the Parents Section when it should have been placed where more people would see the crime being perpetuated by the U.S?

[Juan Figuroa]

07:08 PM on 05/18/2012

This only seems difficult. It's not. The child was kidnapped. She goes back to her parents. If Elizabeth Smart or Jaycee Duggard had been found in Guatamala, and a local court ruled "finders, keepers," imagine the outcry.

(And yes, I know exactly how hard it would be. I, too, adopted overseas. Doesn't matter. I don't own my children.)

[Safira Umm Haroun Felix]

02:20 PM on 05/15/2012

In related news, the kidnappers of young Isabel Celis have hired a public relations firm and announced that they are the legal parents of Isabel.

[Conuly]

12:41 AM on 05/16/2012

Did the adoptive parents a. commit the kidnapping and, if they didn't b. know about it?

If they knew nothing of it, I can understand why they wouldn't want to return the child from the only home she knows. It's heartbreaking to lose the child you've raised. (And that kid will lose her parents a second time if that happens.)

That doesn't mean that the real parents* don't have a case, just that I hope some compromise can be made that keeps this little girl from being too traumatized.

* I'm using that term in this case because they never consented to have their child adopted, and I worry that in this specific case saying "biological" might sound like the other set are more real than this one.

[biged59]

06:37 PM on 05/16/2012

Countries, and states do this all the time. Its another "homer" decision. (US citizens win in US courts [in Brazilian courts, Syrian courts, Japanese courts, etc., etc. the home team generally wins].) Whether the "adoptive parents" knew of the kidnapping should have no bearing on the case (except in so far as criminal kidnap charges might apply). You buy a stollen car, too bad! It doesn't belong to you, (whether you knew about it, or not)!! There could be an impartial judgement of some kind (maybe in some neutral venue) regarding the welfare of the child. But, unless we are just going to play the "homer decision" game, the natural mother should win this one.

[LaFemmeSASE]

01:20 PM on 05/15/2012

I hope the US knows it is setting a precedent. Any child kidnapped from the US would be be treated the same way despite whatever was signed. My heart goes out to the parents of that child and not the adopted ones who felt it necessary to hire a public relations firm. They are part of the problem too.

[Safira Umm Haroun Felix]

02:23 PM on 05/15/2012

Agreed 150%.

[Conuly]

12:42 AM on 05/16/2012

The US has more weight to throw around that Guatemala does.

[LaFemmeSASE]

12:17 PM on 05/16/2012

Thank you for your considerate comment. Now while the US has more weight with this country, how will it fare when it tries to get back children from Japan, Brazil and many other countries that American children are whisked away to.
Its a shame that in your thinking might makes right.

[docronin]

12:48 PM on 05/15/2012

You gotta be kidding....the child was kidnapped and the U.S. will not return her to her parents.....Incredible.....