Jorge Puello (pictured in suit), the Dominican legal adviser to the American missionaries held in Haiti on kidnapping charges, is suspected of being involved in trafficking of women and girls. It's also been revealed that Jorge Puello has no license to practice law in the Dominican Republic and authorities want to question him in connection with a sexual trafficking ring. Everything is now on hold for the Americans in Haiti as a result.

The police in El Salvador have begun an investigation into whether a man suspected of leading a trafficking ring involving Central American and Caribbean women and girls is also a legal adviser to the Americans charged with trying to take 33 children out of Haiti without permission. Source: Adviser to Detained Americans in Haiti Is Investigated, New York Times

So now the fates of the 10 Americans are completely intertwined with those of faux lawyer Jorge Puello.

Puello has been a high-profile advocate for the jailed Baptists as they navigate the Haitian justice system. He also now is in apparent violation of Dominican law for failing to register with the local bar association or obtain a license, said Jose Parra, vice president of the Dominican Lawyers Association.

Parra said his organization was investigating the situation and might file a complaint with the Justice Department, which could pursue criminal charges.

Puello declined to comment in a brief telephone interview, saying he would be busy in court representing a U.S. firm seeking to establish a business in the Dominican Republic. He could not be located in court and did not return later phone calls. Source: Doubts about adviser snag Americans in Haiti, Washington Post

Look folks, I don't believe that the American missionaries had any idea about Puello's background.

In fact, although the authorities in El Salvador believe Puello is the man they're after, they won't be sure until fingerprints are compared. So let's just say, for arguments sake, that Puello is not a child trafficker. His behavior is still shady and he conned his way into this child kidnapping case. And if Jorge Puello is a child trafficker then what better way to get access to a whole batch of vulnerable children than to cozy up to a group of Americans determined to take 100 children off the streets of Haiti and whisk them off to God knows where. My bet? This sordid story is far from over.

I hope I'm wrong.