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Reps call for national travel boycott of Mexico over jailed Marine

Two Republican congressmen called Thursday for a national travel boycott of Mexico until the country releases imprisoned former Marine Jon Hammar, urging "all Americans" to campaign for the war veteran's freedom by turning off the tap on America's tourism dollars.
The statements from Reps. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., and Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. -- both Marine combat veterans -- came as dozens of lawmakers pressed the Obama administration to more aggressively petition for Hammar's release. Hammar, who is locked up in a notorious Mexican prison on what his family says is a trumped-up weapons charge, is increasingly gaining the attention of Congress.
Amid conflicting signals about whether U.S. officials were making progress toward his release, Grimm and Hunter called for a national effort to bring Hammar home.
"Until U.S. Marine Jon Hammar is released, I am calling on all Americans to cancel their vacations to Mexico and not to book any travel there," Grimm said, calling Hammar's treatment at the hands of Mexican officials an "absolute disgrace."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012...#ixzz2FeV4JKVh

yep the kid was taking a vintage shotgun from the US to IIRC Costa Rica..

had been told by customs officials in the US it was okay to take it yet when asked about it on the Mexican side of the border he declared it.. Has been in jail since..

even hupo the progressive bible has railed against it..

Quote:

America Left This Marine Behind

By the time you read this, I earnestly hope that formar Marine Lance Corporal Jon Hammar is a free man. I hope that our State Department has stepped up to help this military hero in his time of need. I hope that politicians in his parent's home state of Florida have tossed their weight around enough to end the madness that has enveloped young Hammar's life.

I'm not optimistic.

For almost four months, 27-year-old Hammar has been held in a notoriously dangerous prison in Matamoros, Mexico on a trumped up charge that he tried to bring a military weapon into Mexico. (It was actually his grandfather's hunting rifle.) The prison where Hammar is being held, known as CEDES, is populated by inmates tied to Mexico's violent drug cartels and according to those in the know, these gangsters literally run the institution. Once the thugs realized there was a prized American housed among them the beatings and extortion attempts began.

Jon's parents, Olivia and Jon Sr., only recently decided to go public with their son's plight out of sheer frustration. They had been scared into silence because shortly after Jon was arrested in mid-August they began receiving terrifying phone calls from inside the prison demanding money. Olivia recounted one call during a television interview this week.

"They're saying, 'You need to wire us money or we're going to kill your son, we've already f---ed him up,' and initially I thought it was a scam, but then they put him on the phone and he was breathless and I knew they had." Olivia tearfully added that her son told her over the phone, "You need to do whatever they say. I'm so sorry. I'll pay you back."

Hammar enlisted in the Marines at 18 because he believed he could make a difference. He proudly served for four years in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. The fighting he saw was so fierce and deadly -- especially in Fallujah, Iraq -- that upon coming home, Jon needed help dealing with post-traumatic stress. He entered an intensive nine-month program where he met another combat vet, Ian McDonough.

Once they finished the PTSD course, outdoorsy Jon, along with his new pal Ian, decided to buy an old Winnebago, toss in their surfboards and take some R & R in Costa Rica. As they prepared to cross the Texas border into Mexico, a U.S. customs agent advised Jon that he needed to register the old rifle with Mexican authorities and gave him papers to fill out for that purpose. Once into Mexico, the papers were presented and ignored. The two men were arrested on federal charges of having a weapon that is reserved for military use. Preposterous, that an old Sears and Roebuck .410 shotgun nearly a century old could be confused with a military firearm!

Like the loyal Marine he is, Hammar declared that the gun was his and his fellow veteran McDonough was released.

Jon's parents immediately notified the U.S. Consulate in Matamoros and hired a local lawyer, who told ABC News he feared authorities wanted to "make an example out of the gringo." The U.S. State Department was informed and helped only to the extent that they got Jon moved out of the general population. According to Olivia, however, her son was then chained to a bed in a small storage shed. The State Department now says they got the chains removed.

Okay, I'll just say it. Why is the United States of America so wimpy when it comes to dealing with Mexico? I mean, for years now -- through several Republican and Democratic administrations -- we have let Mexico's problems fester and then ooze across our border nearly unchallenged. The illegal flow of people, guns, drugs and deadly violence seems never ending and in the meantime Washington acts like it is paralyzed.

There is no better time than right now for President Obama to pick up the telephone and demand Mexico's newly installed President Enrique Pena Nieto secure the release of this U.S. Marine. Pena Nieto just took office December first and from the get-go Mexico's new leader should be put on notice that this country will not stand for an American citizen to be held on phony charges. It is way past time that America flex its considerable muscle with our nettlesome neighbor to the south. As my father used to say, "You only get the respect you demand."

We recently sent a Special Ops SEAL team into Afghanistan to rescue a doctor from Colorado who had been held by the Taliban for five days. Doesn't a war veteran held just across our border deserve the same consideration? l;. '

Unless there's more to this story that's unknown, it is also time for Congress to get involved. Only three Florida-based politicians have stepped up to urge the State Department to do more: Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, is who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It is astounding to me that only three lawmakers find young Jon Hammar's situation unacceptable.

The Marine Corps has a sacred code. They don't leave fellow warriors behind. American politicians should !@#$%^&* well make sure they don't leave this Marine stranded in a country that is supposed to be our ally, a country where cartel ordered deaths are a daily occurrence.

Now that Hammar's plight has been made public, as his mother said, "We need this to end fast."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-...b_2337215.html

BTW anyone dumb enough to vacation in Mexico, is seriously stupid..

with the gang activity and drug wars going on, not to mention the corruption in government including the federalies .

I live on the border and used to go across for dinner.. best Chinese restaurant I have ever been to is /was in Juarez.

Used to take visitors all the time.. especially those from Europe..

but being in a Bar when a drive by attack was going one was enough for me..

the story i heard was he was going to costa rica and was passing thru that 3rd world pos country

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAN_BRONCO_FAN (Post 3759627)

the story i heard was he was going to costa rica and was passing thru that 3rd world pos country

yes read the HUPO piece (above) it spells out what happened..

I used to go to Mexico 3-5 times a year on vacation super cheap flights out of Juarez hotels in Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo were cheap and the restaurants super cheap with great to good food..

Great beaches and even better deep sea fishing.

Since the shooting incident have not been back since.. Those vacations spots have lost in my money alone about a $100K considering all the times I would have went..

Taking a vacation in Mexico and discover a fascinating mix of people, places, cultures and traditions. Our hotels provide luxury Mexico and conveniently nearby are the Mayan ruins, canopy tours and zip-line beautiful white sand beaches.:afro:

This story makes no sense. Why are they singling this guy out? Strange case you would think Obama could end with on phone call. Is this payback for something Mexico is upset about? Have we recently put to death someone or something? Has to be some reason right?

well there is the on going f*** up with the fast and furious incidents now some famous mexican singer got killed by one of those guns the fbi or whoever let go to the mexican cartel . god this goverment needs one hell of a do over.
it is f*** up beyond repair it needs a over haul

Quote:

Originally Posted by vindico (Post 3759653)

HELL NO i feel safer dressed as the kkk in Detroit with 100 dollar bills hanging out of my pocket at least i can call the police and i got civil rights vs 3rd world Mexico

Quote:

Originally Posted by cutthemdown (Post 3759675)

They supposedly do not allow non law enforcement or military to own firearms.

Ahahahahahaha.

They are afraid of being overthrown.

Yet can not control the drug trade. Who have more weapons than they do.

Nobama needs to get off his ass and make a call.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonestar (Post 3759718)

BS I have been hunting in mexico and my friends who took me go every yr. I know this for a fact they go every yr and hunt birds. So he had a shotgun. The worst he should be charged with is not getting a permit for a hunting shotgun. This is wierd them labling a 410 shotgun military. Its only weapons used by the military you cant have. But they exempt bird hunting guns and other hunting rifles all the time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAN_BRONCO_FAN (Post 3759682)

HELL NO i feel safer dressed as the kkk in Detroit with 100 dollar bills hanging out of my pocket at least i can call the police and i got civil rights vs 3rd world Mexico

So just a regular friday night but in Detroit? :) j/k man lol.

The Mexicans are, once again, blaming all their troubles on El Norte. They are under the influence of an intense campaign to blame America for the guns flooding the country, so the government is using Hammar as a propaganda pawn on the gun issue while showing the Mexican people how wonderful they are by sticking it to the Gringos.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cutthemdown (Post 3759731)

Not sure where they are going BUT I live on the border and for a couple of miles leading into a border crossing have signs up stating it is forbidden to take firearms of any sort into Mexico..

We even have a local Cop a arrested and detained because he was pursuing a car thief into Mexico in and unmarked car.. Must have been the judges son or something taht was stealing him a new car to drive.

he sat in jail for over a year.. Because he had his weapon on him..

In this case the kid thought and was told by customs folks on this side it would be OK. just to let them know..

If I were to go over my weapons stay in the US.. but then I refuse to put my self in harms way anymore..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rohirrim (Post 3759743)

while this may be partially true.. it is more like they have not been paid enough in the bribes to get him released..

nor has the state department done anything..

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonestar (Post 3759884)

while this may be partially true.. it is more like they have not been paid enough in the bribes to get him released..

nor has the state department done anything..

The state department never does anything to help U.S. citizens abroad. They couldn't care less. Their job is to help commerce and corporations, not citizens.

I heard they are releasing the kid in time for xmas. Still though wierd because like i said I know people who hunt in mexico so there must be a form for bringinig shotguns in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rohirrim (Post 3759953)

The state department never does anything to help U.S. citizens abroad. They couldn't care less. Their job is to help commerce and corporations, not citizens.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cutthemdown (Post 3759967)

I heard they are releasing the kid in time for xmas. Still though wierd because like i said I know people who hunt in mexico so there must be a form for bringinig shotguns in.

there may be some way of doing it but according to my friends in the BP it is not allowed.. even they do not stray from this side of the border armed for that matter they never go to Mexico at all, for fear of retaliation for what they do to the cartels..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rohirrim (Post 3759953)

The state department never does anything to help U.S. citizens abroad. They couldn't care less. Their job is to help commerce and corporations, not citizens.

SO let me get this straight.. those embassies in every country are off limits for citizens? Only businesses can enter?

I think you are dead wrong on this..

the state department and the embassies they are responsible for are safe havens as well as a place US citizens go to for help in those countries..

But good try for more revisionism from the far left..

let me add that I have had clients that have had to go to the embassies in many countries for help the last one after having their passport stolen (mugging) in the Vatican of all places.. they had new passports issued by our embassy at the Vatican..

I have been in many Embassies when I have traveled more so for getting valid information about that country, getting the where to go and NOT to GO from those in the know.. where to stay away from..

Quote:

Originally Posted by cutthemdown (Post 3759733)

So just a regular friday night but in Detroit? :) j/k man lol.

lol yeah but damn think about it mexico for the most part is a lawless country only. the tourist cities are safe ,as long as you dont go wander too far.
oh also i hear they going to release the poor guy . i think its time to restrict travel by car to mexico only airliners flying to tourist cities should be allowed otherwise no us travel by car or foot to mexico .unless you want to take the chance you be fcked over

The guy has nobody to blame but himself. The only reason it is being widely reported is because he is a Marine and they are using his "service" as a punch card. Doooooooooon't care.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Requiem (Post 3759991)

The guy has nobody to blame but himself. The only reason it is being widely reported is because he is a Marine and they are using his "service" as a punch card. Doooooooooon't care.

you are only half right he asked the boarder agent the law on bringing guns to mexico and the agent said as long as you check it in with the mexican boarder patrol agents so he did and well it was a tacky thing but yeah if he was joe blow doubt anyone would pay attention. none the less i dont think anyone should go to mexico

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAN_BRONCO_FAN (Post 3759999)

The only circumstances where the Mexican government allows foreigns from other countries to bring in weapons is if it is for a hunting purpose and they have extensive documentation. As far as I get from the story, he had documentation, but not for that purpose. His own fault. Nobody elses. Just another nationalisic cry story from the media to get people to rally behind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Requiem (Post 3760008)

but he was given bad info and it wasnt a regular gun i hear it was some sort of antique and he declared it to the Mexican authorities . so they arrested him and it takes almost what 2 years to get this guy sprung?
plus they had him chained to the bed ?
we dont do that to even our most violent prisoners .
would that not be a human right violation?
again i think we should restrict all travel to mexico unless you want to sign a waver saying you be taking your own chances over there