Haitian officials have said that 10 American Baptists who were arrested for trying to take children out of the country, will face prosecution.

Men, who are U.S. citizens arrested for their involvement in a suspected illegal adoption scheme, talk to a journalist at a holding cell at the judicial police station in Port-au-Prince Feb. 1, 2010.

The Haitian Minister of Culture, Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue, told reporters on Monday that the Baptist group, however well-intentioned, must be prosecuted to send a strong message against child trafficking.

The Haitian government said the Americans might have to face trial in the United States due to Haiti's crippled judicial system. The ten Americans were detained by Haitian police on Saturday as they allegedly tried to take 33 children across the border into the Dominican Republic, without proper documents.