A Colombian man claims that a German woman who appeared on television searching for her biological family is his daughter, who was adopted without permission 23 years ago.
Laureano Cardenas Mallungo had a daughter outside of his marriage more than 23 years ago in the town of El Hobo, Huila. When the girl, Daniela Jimena Cardenas Lopez, was about six months old, Cardenas was seriously injured in a fight and admitted to a hospital in Neiva. The mother of the child left their daughter with a neighbor so she could travel to the hospital with him. When they returned to El Hobo, the neighbor told them that Family Welfare had taken the girl away.
When they visited the Family Welfare office, they were told that the welfare branch could care for the child until Cardenas had recovered. After several months he went back to the office again, but was told that his daughter had been adopted by a European couple and was no longer there. After this, he heard nothing more regarding the whereabouts of his daughter.
Cardenas said he never lost hope that he would find his daughter, and after seeing images of the German woman on television, he said he is sure that it is her as she looks very similar to the woman with which Cardenas had a child.
“They changed my daughter’s name and took her away arbitrarily. I didn’t sign anything and neither did her mother, but regardless they took her away,” Cardenas said. “What I most desire is to meet her. There would be so much joy after such a long time.”
He said he cannot wait to meet the woman who he believes to be his daughter.
