Demand our Marine back. Boycott Mexico!

U.S. Marine reserve Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi has been languishing in a Mexican prison since March for the apparent crime of having made a wrong turn.  The sergeant says he was on his way to meet friends in San Ysidro when he missed an exit and wound up at a Mexican border checkpoint.  Because Sgt. Tahmooressi was in the process of moving cross-country, he had all of his earthly possessions with him in his vehicle—and among those were three legally-obtained military-style firearms. 

The man’s story is credible.  Mexican customs officials should have resolved the case in 15 minutes and sent him on his way.  Instead, they slapped him in prison, where he remains today without bail.  The case is crawling through the Mexican court system.   He could face a lengthy prison term.

It’s no accident that Mexico is treating this man this way.  It’s policy.  And this could happen to any American citizen.  The Tijuana Mexican consulate page contains a warning that Americans who violate that country’s strict weapons laws by bringing in so much as a pocket knife will be dealt with harshly, even if the violation is completely  unintentional.

The situation bizarre, ridiculous, and unacceptable.  Our government should be demanding this Marine’s release, and better treatment for Americans caught in similar situations going forward.   So far the State Department has had no comment.   Nor has President Obama, despite the fact that a petition asking him to get involved is now up to 130,000 signatures—30,000 past the number the president said previously would guarantee a response from him.

Maybe 2,000,000 signatures would make a difference?

The mainstream media (with some notable exceptions) and our government have paid very little attention to this issue.  One of the problems is that our state department and the Mexican government do not consider this a diplomatic matter.  Let’s make it one.   It’s likely that nothing will happen here unless Sgt. Tahmooressi’s fellow Americans make it happen.  Please consider taking the following actions.

1.  Boycott any and all Mexican-made products until this matter is resolved.  And when  you do, make sure you explain to store employees what you are doing and why.

2.  Contact the president and ask him to intervene (see below for contact info and a sample letter).

3.  Post this blog entry on your Facebook or other social media page, share it with your friends, and ask them to do the same.  The share button is on the upper left corner of this page, or you can cut and paste the URL below into the social media page or website of your choice:

http://thebashfulbloviator.blogspot.com/2014/08/demand-our-marine-back-boycott-mexico.html

Don’t let this matter drop.  Insist on the return of our Marine.  Now.

Click the video box at the top of this page for much more info on this issue, in an excerpt taken from my PowerTalk 1210 radio program.

White House Contact info:

How to contact the White House about Sgt. AndrewTahmooressi by email

Sign the Tahmooressi White House petition

Write the White House via “snail mail” here:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Note:  I prefer a paper letter for this type of thing because a physical letter is harder to ignore—someone has to physically touch it!   I’ve taken my own advice.  Below is an image of the letter I have just placed into the U.S. Mail.

FC