Americans arrested trying to take Haitian orphans without papers into Dominican Republic

Americans arrested taking children out of Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haiti’s government has detained at least nine Americans on suspicion of trying to take children out of the country without authorization.

Haiti’s communications minister says the Americans were trying to bring 33 children across the border into the Dominican Republic.

Haiti has imposed new controls on adoptions since the Jan. 12 earthquake. The government now requires Prime Minister Max Bellerive to personally authorize the departure of any child as a way to prevent child trafficking.

Officials estimate that thousands of kids have been separated from their parents or orphaned by the earthquake.