Hundreds back in US as Mexico closes schools

Authorities closed three rehabilitation centres in northern Mexico this week and deported hundreds of US teenagers sent there for treatment of drug, alcohol or behaviour problems, immigration officials said.

Parents picked up hundreds of US teenagers after authorities closed down three schools for troubled youth, according to a US consular official.

About 538 teenagers the vast majority US citizens were being returned home after authorities shut down Casa by the Sea in Ensenada, located on the Pacific coast about 100 km south of San Diego, said Liza Davis, public affairs officer with US Consulate in Tijuana.

Roughly 50 more teen-agers from two other facilities Casa de la Esperanza in Ensenada and Genesis in Rosarito, about 25 kms south of the US border already had left Mexico by Saturday after the schools were closed, Davis said.

"We anticipate by this evening (Sunday) to have all of the kids back in the US," said Davis, speaking from Casa by the Sea.

Mexican immigration and health authorities apparently carried out a surprise inspection on Friday of the three treatment centres for teenagers with severe behaviour problems.

Mexican authorities could not immediately be reached for comment and it was unclear exactly why the schools were shut down.

"At this point we don't have any substantiated cases of abuse," Davis said.

Cost Rica's child welfare agency presented a list of problems at the Academy at Dundee Ranch that needed correcting if the school was to continue operating.

Official visits touched off two student rebellions that eventually forced Dundee to close.

A previous group that reorganised to become WWASPS had two member schools in the Czech Republic and Cancun, Mexico suddenly close after they became the subjects of legal investigations.

Kay said Mexican authorities allowed the staff of Casa by the Sea to stay at the facility and maintain control over the students.

But more than 60 parents attending a student-parent seminar were abruptly shut out of the facility when the inspection started on Friday.