The  Prosecutor's Office against Human Trafficking ordered the arrest of five National Patronage of Children (PANI) employees on charges of human trafficking (in the form of unlawful adoptions), fraud, and failure to carry out their duties.


Authorities requested that the judge prevent the defendants from leaving the country, surrender their passports to legal authorities, and refrain from contacting witnesses.


The PANI is the government agency in charge of safeguarding the rights of children and teenagers. The governmental agency has the jurisdiction to investigate child abuse allegations and, if necessary, to take into custody abused children from their parents. The group administers hospices and public shelters for children who are orphaned, at risk, homeless, or in detention.


The operation, which was assisted by Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) agents, included six raids on the PANI's central offices in San José. There were also offices of that organization in the cantons of Alajuela City and Orotina in Alajuela, Santa Ana in San José, and Cariari and Puerto Viejo in Limón.


The suspects, namely Chacón-Alpízar, Barrantes-Montero, Fernández-Céspedes, Hernández-Méndez, and Chavarría-Berrocal, were arrested during the judicial operation.


According to officials, a sixth suspect has left the country, and an Interpol warning has been issued to arrest him.

The investigation focuses on events between 2020 and 2022, while the accused worked at the institute's Cariari office in Limón. The defendants allegedly manipulated information to carry out illegal child adoptions.

The inquiry found significant irregularities in the adoption procedure for youngsters. Furthermore, the defendants are accused of neglecting to adhere to the required administrative processes for adoption. According to the OIJ, the accused are also suspected of presenting false testimony in these legal processes to take away the children from their relatives and then give them to an adoptive family, among other questionable actions.


The suspects were taken to the San José Public Ministry's cells for interrogation by judicial agents and now await the judge’s orders regarding pre-trial measures against them as suspects of human trafficking.

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