The NGO Save the Children denied being involved in the trafficking of migrant children in Guatemala, a day after the prosecutor’s office raided five of the organization’s offices in the country. The raids were led by the controversial prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, who reported “possible violations and abuses against Guatemalan children,” alleging the trafficking of migrant children traveling alone to the United States.
“We reaffirm that we have never facilitated the transfer of any children or adolescents out of Guatemala,” said the NGO in an email sent to AFP following the raids on their offices in two border municipalities with Honduras and three Mayan towns. “After the previous allegations against our organization earlier this year, we confirm that no evidence of irregularities was found,” added the NGO, headquartered in the United Kingdom, referring to the raid on its national headquarters in Guatemala’s capital in April.
The first raid took place 12 days after local media reported that the Guatemalan prosecutor’s office had requested the cooperation of its Texas counterpart to investigate alleged trafficking of Guatemalan children at the U.S. southern border, which would allegedly involve NGOs like Save the Children.
In a letter, the secretary general of the Guatemalan prosecutor’s office, Ángel Pineda, asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for his “attention” to a “serious situation” regarding a complaint about an alleged “complex network” of unaccompanied child trafficking. According to Pineda, the complaint warned of a “pattern of disappearance” of children in Guatemala who were later found without parental protection in shelters in Texas, places with a history of “sexual abuse” allegations.
“We are deeply committed to transparency and accountability. We are cooperating with authorities and caring for our staff,” stated Save the Children. The NGO began working in Guatemala in 1976 after an earthquake devastated the country and was formally established in 1983. It currently has projects in education, health, nutrition, and assistance to migrant families, among others.
Curruchiche, Pineda, and their boss, Attorney General Consuelo Porras, have been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for being considered “corrupt” and “undemocratic.”
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