Guatemalan police say they have rescued from an illegal adoption home run by an American man and his Guatemalan wife 46 children they believe may have been stolen or coerced from their parents.

Carlos Calju, the Guatemalan national police spokesman, said the children, some just three days old, were found on Saturday at the Casa Quivira children's home in Antigua, a city popular among foreign tourists near Guatemala City.

Calju said Casa Quivira is run by Clifford Phillips of Deland, Florida, and his Guatemalan wife and lawyer, Sandra Gonzalez.