Thanks for writing.

According to Embassy memos, corruption was detected in about 5 percent of cases. Whether that is a lot or a little, I don’t know. Nor do I know whether that number remained constant. What I do know is that corruption is widespread throughout many layers of Guatemalan bureaucracy, as has been documented by independent organizations such as CICIG and is reported almost daily by Guatemalan and international news outlets.

I, however, am a person who believes in degrees of corruption–that is, a falsified document is different from a birth mother who was coerced. Why? Because in Guatemala and many other countries around the world, falsified documents are common and often necessary for survival. In Guatemala, many people from surrounding countries such as Honduras operate with false cedulas or identity cards. Why? Because as dangerous as Guatemala is and as depressed its economy, Guatemala is less dangerous and economically depressed than Honduras. Similarly, in the USA, tens of thousands of Guatemalans are living and working while undocumented–a form of identity falsification. I think most people would agree that’s an order of magnitude “less bad” than snatching a baby from someone unwilling to give him up.

Do I think it’s “right” that adoption documents may have been falsified–fake names and addresses, fake marital status. Of course not. But viewed within the context of the country, I’m not suprised by it.

Re: the DNA. A DNA test is taken by swabbing the inside of the mouth to collect cells from the cheeks of a birth mother and her baby. Each of the two cotton swabs is sealed into plastic bags, and sent to a lab in North Carolina for analysis. One easy way this can be corrupted by an attorney or other interested party: By swapping the swabs. In other words, attorney holds swab from the actual birth mother or baby in his pocket, and switches it with the sample taken in the room. Why would someone do this? One reason, among many possible: Because if a birth mother relinquishes multiple babies, a red flag goes up. A “fake” birth mother goes in for the test, but the sample is from the actual birth mother, and thus is a match.

Does this happen often? I doubt it. Most attorneys and facilitators wanted to process “clean” adoptions. They didn’t want to raise red flags. They didn’t want trouble. But if someone had wanted to compromise a DNA test, they could have.

What concerned Embassy officials more that falsified DNA tests was coercion: the fact that maybe a birth mother was unsure if she wanted to relinquish or had second thoughts. A DNA test couldn’t measure degree of free will, which is why the Embassy often also conducted interviews.

As for Erin Siegal’s publishing credentials: Yes, from what I can determine, Cathexis Press is owned and operated by Erin Siegal. However, the text of The Embassy Cables is taken from actual Embassy communications, reprinted and published by Erin Siegal. The reason I read and reviewed the book is that it contains primary source material– memos and transcripts and emails–which I hoped would shed light on the history of adoption in Guatemala, and deepen understanding of it. In that regard, the book, for me, was successful, although as you say, it’s not really a book at all, but a compendium.

When I bought The Embassy Cables, it was available in paperback for a very hefty sum–I believe ~ $50. Perhaps now it’s only available digitally. I don’t know.

After reading the Embassy Cables, I came away impressed with the safeguards our government put in place in their attempts to protect birth mothers, children, and American citizens. But I also realized, in a profound way, that a system can only be as honest as the people working within it. Reading the Embassy Cables, I got the feeling there was a percentage of people motivated, not by their love and concern for babies and children, but by greed. Tragically, these dishonest players corrupted an entire system, and ultimately shut it down.

As you probably know, I’m also an adoptive mother, to two children born in Guatemala. I remain a staunch supporter of adoption, and am close to despair that 200+ cases pending since 2007 are still in limbo. On bad days, I wonder if we as human beings are capable of ever establishing a transparent and honest adoption system, one that will protect children and birth mothers and adoptive families. On good days, I keep hoping.

Thank you again for writing.

The U.S. Cables “book” I would not even call a “book” at all. It is only sold through Amazon as an Amazon Digital Edition. It is not held by ANY library, it is not available from any books seller other than Amazon. Definitely vanity press (meaning the author likely paid to have it “published”).

But thank you for the review!