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Vigilante Saves Kids From Parent Abduction
Categories: Divorce & Custody, In The News, Weird But True
Gustavo Zamora helps parents find their abducted kids. Credit: Nadya Labi, The Atlantic
A globe-trotting vigilante retrieves children from foreign countries? Why would you need one?
Say you marry someone and you have children. You get divorced. There's a custody battle. You win. Your ex-spouse refuses to accept the decision. He or she takes the children and flees overseas to a country that doesn't recognize your custody rights.
What do you do?
This is not a hypothetical question for thousands of parents who go through this exact scenario every year. Their options are limited.
One option, however, is Gus Zamora.
He goes to other countries and gets kids back -- one way or another. "There are lots of ways to recover a child," he said in an interview with ParentDish. "There's no one way."
The Tampa Bay, Fla., resident and former Army Ranger prefers to do things nice and legal. If he can work through a foreign court system, fine. Failing that, he might try to bully foreign officials with threats -- or at least bluffs -- of crushing media attention.
As a last resort, Zamora said, he will grab the child and run. "That's when you've run out of other options," he said.
Remember, these are children whose American parents have legal custody of them. Zamora said he reviews cases to make sure his clients are within their rights. The kidnapping parents can try to continue the custody battle. "But they're going to have to do it on American soil," he said.
Zamora is one of the few professionals who goes Rambo to get kids back. There might be others, he said, but not nearly as many as the dozens upon dozens of scam artists who say they can help parents, but end up doing nothing.
"The experts will come crawling out of the woodwork," he said, "but that's what they'll be doing, they'll be crawling."
Zamora has been getting kids out of foreign countries for 18 years. So far, he said, he has recovered 55 children.
And he is certainly more aggressive about it than more official channels. U.S. State Department officials don't like to meddle in international custody disputes, Zamora said. They have bigger diplomatic fish to fry and don't want to endanger other issues for the sake of what amounts to family conflicts. Nonetheless, Zamora said, it's amazing how many people come to him after hush-hush referrals from government types.
Other child-protection organizations offer little more than sympathy, Zamora said.
Not him. He offers action, which comes with a hefty price tag that varies from client to client. And he doesn't like clients who question his methods. "The client can be your worst enemy," he said in an interview this month in Atlantic Monthly.
Many foreign governments are notoriously indifferent to the custodial rights of American parents, Zamora said. One of them is Japan. Christopher Savoie of Franklin, Tn., found that out when he went to retrieve his children from his ex-wife and wound up in jail.
Japanese law almost universally favors the mother in child custody cases, regardless of circumstances. There's another factor involved in Savoie's case, Zamora said. "Japan is a real tough nut to crack," Zamora said. "They're racist and they don't care about anything except what they think are the interests of their own people."
Germany and France are also difficult, he said. "It's terrible, but that's the reality of it," he added.
Unfortunately, Zamora said, his business is booming as long as there are custody battles over international borders.
"I wish the system worked, but the fact that it doesn't work means I'll be working," he said on his Web site.
"It's kind of a shame."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
mayasmummi 11-06-2009 @ 10:39PM
I live the nightmare described in this story everyday. Though their are laws that can help - and hopefully both parties do what they are suppose to - but in the end, it is still a "Rambo" mentality you have to have in order to keep your children in the U.S.A. I have also learned - Embassy's on American soil are not held to the same standard as the laws that govern their patrons. It is fiercly expensive to keep your kids - but the "other scenario" is much worse. And just because a country is signed to the "Hague Convention for Abducted Children - does not mean they will follow that agreement.
Reply
Eric Kalmus 11-05-2009 @ 2:00PM
Oh please, mayasmummi you don't really believe what you wrote do you? Sounds to me like you are a Japanese governement plant trying to make people believe that the Japanese are not the ABDUCTORS that they are -
see www crnjapan net
!!! You keep stealing them - we will keep recovering them !!!
drue1976 11-05-2009 @ 2:50PM
melody, are you for real lol have you ever been outside this country?
don't get me wrong I'm the biggest patriot proven with blood, sweat and tears in the military for 8 years! That's the mentality the majority of the world loves about us lol Anyways, I'm with you Zamora! I believe the children should go to the rightful guardian where ever in this planet they may live!
DAN BUSHEY 11-05-2009 @ 6:44PM
Hurray for someone with REAL GUTS!!! Screw the government. SIGNED: Dan Bushey
mayasmummi 11-06-2009 @ 10:34PM
Eric K - I actually do believe EVERY bit of what I wrote, as I live it - you don't.
And no - it has, nor do I have anything to do with the Japanese or any other Asian nation.
Until you go through - you will NEVER understand, comprehend and can only ASSume!
Eric Kalmus 11-08-2009 @ 10:24PM
You must not know who I am?
www.facethetruth.net
www.crnjapan.net
www.amykalmus.com
you wrote -
Eric K - I actually do believe EVERY bit of what I wrote, as I live it - you don't.
And no - it has, nor do I have anything to do with the Japanese or any other Asian nation.
Until you go through - you will NEVER understand, comprehend and can only ASSume!
Eric Kalmus 11-08-2009 @ 10:33PM
My mistake and I do apologize fully. I just re-read what you initially wrote and I must have misread it terribly. You said what I say.
Again I will try to read harder and not jump to conclusions before understanding what Im reading.
Thank you for pointing out to people the issues with International Parental Abduction to Japan.
Best Regards;
Eric Kalmus
ninainindia 11-04-2009 @ 2:41AM
It sounds like Zamora believes that the child is always better of in the USA. I hope he looks into both sides before he decides to "rescue" a child.
Reply
Mihir 11-04-2009 @ 9:41AM
the article states the parent (who happens to be located in the US) has legal custody of the child. the other parent is the one who fled the country. nowhere does it state that Zamora "believes that the child is always better of in the USA".
SKL 11-04-2009 @ 10:28AM
It's nobody's business besides the legal custodial parent to decide in which country the child is "better off." Elian Gonzales was better off with his father, who happened to live in Cuba. My kids are better off wherever I am.
melody 11-05-2009 @ 2:10PM
of course the child is better off in USA...duh! isn't everyone?
Millerson 11-05-2009 @ 2:48PM
Melody - I sincerely hope you are joking. I know Americans can be pretty out of touch with just how much better life is in many other parts of the world these days, but surely VERY few Americans are so naive as to seriously believe they are in the best country anymore. In terms of quality of life, the United States ranks about 14th in the world now. In terms of a child's education, the US in 2009 was ranked #26 out of 29 nations at the high school level by PISA (the leading survey of the world in academic standards). The United States has been going steadily downhill for the standard of living for the last 30 years, while many other nations have been steadily improving.
Ryan 11-05-2009 @ 3:12PM
The court has already done that and if the court gives full primary custody to 1 parent there is normally a good reason and that is proven by the fact the loseing parent stole the kid. I'm happy someone is doing this where the legal roads end there needs to be someone to help continue the fight
jmr 11-05-2009 @ 4:22PM
To ninainindia - read it again sweetie. He does check it all out (parents included), before he takes on a job. I wanna be an "Airborne Ranger." God bless him.
catttaylor 11-05-2009 @ 7:27PM
Millerson, According to International Living, the US ranks 3rd in quality of life for 2009 behind France and Switzerland. Here's the link: il-ireland.com/il/qofl2009/. I don't know where you got your number of 14th because you don't bother to state a source.
And why is it that 13 of the top 20 Universities in the world are in the US if our education system is so bad? photius.com/rankings/best_universities_2008.html
I did find something showing lower than average science test scores... the US was ranked 22 out of 34, but we've also had a 90% high school graduation rate for longer than any other country. ourtimes.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/oecd-education-rankings/
I commend the countries who have raised their education standards. That being said, I'm sick of people slamming the US education system and quality of life. If you live here and you hate it so much, then leave - go to France or Switzerland since they're the only 2 countries with a better quality of life (according to International Living which is based in Ireland). If you don't live here, then please stay away. We don't need anymore useless complainers.
Oh yeah, you also might try asking how much of the improvement in other countries over the last 30 years has been paid for with US foreign aid. Wait, don't stop at 30 years... look back 55 years to the Marshall plan. And ask yourself where those countries would be without it. Not just aid from the government, but aid from family members who have moved here for the better quality of life and send money home. Or aid from US based private foundations that dwarves the aid from the government.
My dear Korean friends who love this country and are extremely well-educated are smart enough to understand how great we have it here. By the way, I have indeed traveled extensively and speak more than one language (oooo, say it ain't so - how could an American not be naive, speak any language other than English or know geography?) And let's not forget my friends from the UK, Germany, Norway, Brazil, Japan, China, Canada and the Netherlands who also would not trade their excellent quality of life here for what they had in their home countries. Or perhaps you think they are also naive because their points of view are different than yours. And if you are here in the US, you're allowed to speak your point of view without fear of reprisal, which probably just gives you something else to complain about.
john martin 11-05-2009 @ 5:45PM
no ma'am he isn't saying that at all, he is saying that whereever the custodial parent is is where the child belongs. he said right there in the article that he reviews the cases to make sure his client is in the right
harmonie555 11-05-2009 @ 6:21PM
ninainindia, It doesn't matter if someone thinks the children may be better off someplace else... if a parent has legal custody, then they have the legal right to the children.
Ryan 11-05-2009 @ 6:40PM
It's obvious that you've no (simple) reading and comprehension skills. Failed grade school Engish studies? It clearly states Zamora's retrieval tactis cater to those already located in the U.S.. Pay attention to what you're reading, before u attempt to trash a good samaritan.
glynspsa 11-05-2009 @ 7:27PM
Did you reaqd the freakin article it says he does. Reading comprehension in this country sucks.
Sarah Faye 11-05-2009 @ 7:51PM
Did you read the article? He looks into the case files very carefully to make sure his client is in the right legally. It has nothing to do with the child being better off in America; it's about bringing the child back to the parent who has the legal right to them, the parent that a judge felt was more fit to have custody of them.