8,500 Juárez orphans projected: Study pins record number on cartel violence
Juárez is expected to end up with an estimated 8,500 orphaned children by the year 2012, according to a study by researchers at the Autonomous University of Juárez.
The record number of orphans stems from the drug-cartel violence in recent years, said Alberto Ochoa, a researcher with the university’s Center for Social Research, or CIS.
As a result of the center’s findings, which also look at other cities in Mexico, Ochoa said, the researchers hope to strengthen the demand for adoptions, while Mexican government agencies work to streamline the adoption process.
“The collateral damage will be disastrous for us as a society if we reach the 8,500 figure in 2012,” Ochoa said.
The center previously made headlines with another report that projected that Juárez would have 5,000 homicides this year.