4 Held in Attempt to Buy Child

Four people, including a U.S. citizen and a legal permanent American resident, have been arrested here and charged with child selling after two of them allegedly offered $5,000 to a father in exchange for his 3-year-old son, police said Saturday.

Jose Luis Garcia told authorities that he was walking with his son Friday on Octava Street in downtown Tijuana when he was approached by a couple who said they wanted to purchase the youngster, who would then be sent to the United States by a couple who ran a child-selling ring, according to Tijuana Police Cmdr. Genaro Carrillo.

In addition to cash, the couple offered to pay one year’s rent for Garcia. During the exchange, Garcia flagged down a police cruiser, and two municipal officers arrested the pair, Carrillo said.

Police identified the couple as Jose Luis Almaguer and Ana Isabel Acosta, both apparently Mexican citizens.

During subsequent interrogations, the suspects named an American couple, who were arrested a few blocks from the site of the alleged attempt to purchase the child, Carrillo said.

Police identified the arrested U.S. citizen as David Rivera, whose name was confirmed by Liza Davis, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana.

Arrested with Rivera was Sinai Higuera, police said. Davis said Higuera was a U.S. permanent resident but that she could not confirm the woman’s name.

Information about Rivera’s age and hometown were not available, Davis said.