Lev Tahor members being sought by Guatemalan officials
Members of sect have consulted lawyer about seeking asylum
CBC’s the fifth estate has learned that the Guatemalan Interior Ministry in coordination with Interpol are trying to identify and locate Lev Tahor members who arrived in Guatemala on March 4th.
According to the government source, Guatemalan officials were approached by Canadian authorities.
Six children and two adult members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect have consulted a lawyer about seeking asylum in Guatemala, the fifth estate has confirmed.
They are now staying in the tourist town of Panajachel, a few hours west of Guatemala City.
It is the latest development in an international effort to find children from families in the controversial sect and place them in foster care.
Last week, other members of Lev Tahor were forced to return to Canada after fleeing to Trinidad and Tobago.
That group, consisting of six children and three adults, aroused the suspicion of Trinidad and Tobago immigration authorities, the country’s Attorney General Anand Ramlogan told CBC News.
Border agents prevented the group from continuing their travel to Central America and contacted Canada’s Justice Ministry.
That’s when authorities in Trinidad learned that some Lev Tahor members were subject to a child protection order that was issued in Quebec.
They also learned of a pending case before the Ontario Court of Appeal, where last month an Ontario court ruled to uphold a Quebec’s court’s decision that 13 children be placed with foster families.