US Marine Jailed in Mexico Could Be Released: Report
A U.S. Marine who was arrested in March after he accidentally crossed the border into Mexico may soon be released.
Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, who suffers from PTSD and served two tours in Afghanistan, has been held in Mexican prison after he allegedly accidentally crossed the border with weapons in his vehicle, the National Journal reported.
Since then his mother, Jill Tahmooressi, and lawmakers have been in touch with him, and have been pushing for leniency in his case with the Mexican attorney general.
Jill Tahmooressi told members of a subcommittee hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday that her son had just come to live with her in San Diego from Florida in March.
While serving in Iraq, his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device, the National Journal reported.
He has been unable to receive PTSD treatment since being jailed in Mexico, and tried to commit suicide after being arrested.
Jill Tahmooressi said her son desperately wants to come back to the U.S., but his case became problematic when the first lawyer Andrew Tahmooressi had incorrectly told Mexican officials he had never been into the country before.
A State Department spokesperson said that the U.S. consular officer has met with him 22 times between March 31 and Sept. 4., and also attended a Sept. 9 court hearing where Tahmooressi's health was evaluation.
Consular officers also attended a Sept. 9 court hearing where a medical expert was sworn in so that Tahmooressi's health could be evaluated.
Despite Congress being in recess until the midterms are over, 12 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, were at the subcommittee hearing on Wednesday.
"Any one of us missing that turn -- any one of us not seeing a sign -- and ending up in a position where you're getting arrested. ... You're surrounded by the military for an honest mistake," Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said, according to the National Journal. "I think any one of us would be pretty pissed off. ... What is occurring, there is no excuse. There is absolutely no excuse for it."
There is no information on a possible release date on Tahmooressi.
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