Marine's days in a Mexican jail may be numbered

The mother of a U.S. Marine veteran imprisoned in Mexico for six months after making a wrong turn at the border pleaded earlier this month with lawmakers for his return, saying her son’s condition is rapidly worsening.

Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi—a 26-year-old combat veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder—has deteriorated since being locked up almost seven months ago on gun charges. In an emotional congressional hearing on Oct. 1, Jill Tahmooressi appeared before a House Affairs subcommittee to beg lawmakers to pressure Mexico to release him.

“My son is despondent, without treatment, and he needs to be home,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion.

Appeals for Tahmooressi’s release appear to be working. According to his attorney, Fernando Benitez, the Marine could be released in a matter of weeks. Just hours after the hearing, Benitez, told Fox News he intends to rest his case: “We have more than enough for an acquittal.” A recent, critical development came when the prosecution acknowledged Tahmooressi’s PTSD may have contributed to his actions in the days immediately following his arrest. On humanitarian grounds, the stipulation could open doors for the prisoner’s release.

During the hearing, Jill Tahmooressi, a nurse from Weston, Fla., relayed multiple calls from her son, including one from Afghanistan, in which he described blacking out after an IED explosion. When he got home, Andrew Tahmooressi told his mother he couldn’t concentrate on academic work and abandoned his aspirations to become a commercial pilot. On March 31, Tahmooressi made another call: He was in trouble at the Mexican border.

“Mom, I got lost; I made a wrong turn,” he said, according to his mother. “I’m at the Mexican border. You need to know this because I’m surrounded by Mexican military.”

Then, hours later, he called again: “Mom, I’ve been arrested, please secure me an attorney.”

Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, and former Marine and Navy Lt. Commander Montel Williams appeared with the distressed mother before the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee. Hegseth—a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard who served tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, and at Guantanamo Bay—said the administration should “move heaven and earth” to ensure Tahmooressi returns home safely.

“How dare we, how dare we as a nation, hesitate to get that young man back?” Williams asked, adding that Tahmooressi’s time in prison has been more difficult than his time in both combat tours

According to Benitez, Tahmooressi was getting PTSD treatment in San Diego and living out of his pickup truck when he accidentally crossed the border at a poorly marked checkpoint, where he immediately declared guns were among his possessions in the truck. Lawmakers supporting Jill Tahmooressi’s appeal argue no U.S. ally should be permitted to imprison an ailing American on gun charges stemming from an unintentional mistake.

“Our war hero needs to come home,” said Rep. Matt Salmon, R- Ariz.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., noted the Obama administration negotiated the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl—accused of desertion by several men who served alongside him—by trading five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. Royce and Salmon have been in communication with Mexico’s attorney general, Jesus Karam, who could authorize Tahmooressi’s release for humanitarian reasons. Karam was informed, they said, that the Marine had been diagnosed by the VA San Diego Healthcare System with PTSD just five days prior to his arrest.

Earlier this summer, White House officials asked Mexican authorities to speedily process Tahmooressi’s case after more than 100,000 people signed a petition urging the Obama administration to demand his release.

“I am confident the humanitarian release of Andrew Tahmooressi will occur very soon,” Royce said.