Tag Archives: Jon Hammar

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Ex-Marine arrives home after release from Mexico

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A Marine veteran jailed for months in Mexico after trying to carry an heirloom shotgun across the border has returned home to South Florida.

Jon Hammar‘s father says they got back to their Palmetto Bay home Monday afternoon.

Hammar was released Friday from a detention center in Matamoros, Mexico. He was hospitalized over the weekend in Louisiana as he was driving to South Florida. The 27-year-old had a bad chest cold and a stomach ailment before his release.

Hammar was headed to Costa Rica in August when he drove across the Mexican border. U.S. authorities told him he could declare the unloaded shotgun at the border. But reports say Mexican authorities held him until they determined there was no intent to commit a crime.

Source: Fox US News

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Ex-Marine hospitalized after release from Mexico

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A Marine veteran jailed for months in Mexico after trying to carry an heirloom shotgun across the border had to be hospitalized on his way home to Florida.

Jon Hammar of Palmetto Bay was released Friday from a detention center in Matamoros, Mexico. Relatives say he was hospitalized over the weekend in Louisiana as he was driving to South Florida. Hammar’s mother says the 27-year-old had a bad chest cold and a stomach ailment before his release but still is expected home for Christmas.

Hammar was headed to Costa Rica in August when he drove across the Mexican border. U.S. authorities told him he could declare the unloaded shotgun at the border. But reports say Mexican authorities held him until they determined there was no intent to commit a crime.

Source: Fox US News

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Report: Jon Hammar to be released from Mexican prison today

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DEVELOPING: Jon Hammar, the U.S. Marine imprisoned in Mexico on a gun charge, will be released today, his mother told Fox News Radio.

Olivia Hammar said the judge hearing Hammar’s case issued a ruling in his favor and that her son is to be released at a time on Friday yet to be announced. No more details were available. Hammar, 27, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been stuck in a notorious, drug cartel-controlled prison just 15 miles south of the U.S. border since Aug. 13, after he crossed into Mexico and declared an antique shotgun to Mexican customs officials.

News of his pending release came just a day after a letter surfaced from Mexico‘s ambassador to the U.S. that insisted Hammar’s case would go to trial.

“This circumstance requires that he remain under detention during the duration of his trial,” Arturo Sarukhan said in the letter.

Source: Fox World News

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Letter from Mexican ambassador dampens hope for early release of Jon Hammar

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Any hope that Jon Hammar, the Marine imprisoned in Mexico on a disputed gun charge, might be freed in time for Christmas has apparently been dashed by a terse letter a top Mexican diplomat sent to Hammar’s congresswoman.

The two-page missive from Mexican Ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan to Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who has been aggressively advocating for Hammar’s release, leaves little hope of a diplomatic solution. In it, Sarukhan takes a thinly veiled swipe at the U.S., blaming it for gun proliferation south of the border.

“As you know well, Mexico has had very stringent gun-control laws in place for many years, and have reinforced their application as a result of the flow of weapons illicitly purchased in the U.S. and then trafficked into Mexico and into the hands of transnational criminal organizations,” Sarukhan wrote.

Hammar has been stuck in a notorious, drug cartel-controlled prison just 15 miles south of the U.S. border since Aug. 13, after he crossed into Mexico and declared an antique shotgun to Mexican customs officials.

Sarukhan failed to mention that Tamaulipas, the state which the CEDES prison in Matamoros is located, is controlled by the Los Zetas Cartel, arguably the most vicious of the cartels.

Hammar’s father said the letter is fraught with statements at odds with what he knows and what his son has told him.

“There are huge inaccuracies about what is happening in their system,” Jon Hammar Sr., said.

Sarukhan said Hammar was arrested for possession of a weapon that, according to Mexican law, is restricted for the exclusive use of the Mexican Armed Forces.

But high-ranking Mexican military officials have told Hammar’s attorney, Eddie Varon-Levy, that the gun Hammar tried to declare shortly after crossing into Mexico on his way to Costa Rica is not the type of firearm the laws are meant to block. The gun Hammar claims he also declared to U.S. Customs and border protection is a .410 gauge antique Sears Roebuck shotgun.

But Mexico‘s top diplomat to the U.S. said the letter of the law must be followed.

“Regardless of what he may have declared or stated to CBP agents and then to Mexican Customs authorities, the sole introduction or possession of this type of weapon (not withstanding its intended use or year of manufacture) in Mexican territory constitutes a federal crime in Mexico and is not subject to any prosecutorial discretion,” Sarukhan said.

Varon-Levy disagreed, saying no one can make the argument the antique, small-gauge shotgun is anything resembling a military weapon. He said the prosecutor and his team can’t even agree on specifics of the rifle.

Perhaps the biggest bone of contention Hammar’s family and legal team have with Sarukhan is the ambassador’s pledge that Hammar will be held “in conditions that ensure his well-being and his rights.” Already, Hammar, who suffers post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been denied an interpreter at court appearances, had his life threatened and has been chained to a steel bed.

Two days after his arrest, Hammar’s parents received a midnight extortion attempt by a male caller who said he “owned” the prison, giving credence to speculation that the criminal elements control CEDES prison.

The ambassador also neglected to appreciate the Nov. 23 incident where Hammar was brought to court before the judge — there are no jury trials in Mexico — and asked to plea without his lawyer or even the arresting customs agent present.

Sarukhan claims in the letter that, had Hammar pleaded guilty at a Nov. 23 appearance, he would have likely been released. But Varon-Levy said his client was brought before a judge with no attorney present and no way of understanding what was happening. And despite Sarukhan’s claim, conviction on the charge carries a potential penalty of 15 years in prison.

In his letter, Sarukhan alluded to the fact there will be no wiggle room for negotiation and that Hammar is going trial.

“This circumstance requires that he remain under detention during the duration of his trial,” Sarukhan said.

A trial date is set for Jan. 17.

Source: Fox World News

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Pal of jailed Marine Jon Hammar recounts pal's last day of freedom in Mexico

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The fellow Marine who was with Jon Hammar when Mexican customs officials arrested him for carrying an illegal shotgun said his friend made every effort to follow the law, but got bad information from officials on both sides of the border.

Ian McDonough, 27, told FoxNews.com that four U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents told Hammar before he crossed into Mexico that as long as the required permit, which he completed, was submitted and he declared the gun to Mexican authorities, there would be no problem in bringing the vintage shotgun across the border.

“Jon was told to fill out a form with his name and the specs of the rifle and show it to the customs agent on the Mexican side,” said McDonough, who was traveling with Hammar in an RV to Costa Rica, where they planned to hunt and surf. “I don’t know what they expected Jon to do after they gave him the registration form and sent him on his way.”

Hammar, who was arrested Aug. 13, was charged with a federal level weapon felony and faces up to 15 years in a Mexican prison for what his travel companion said was a breakdown in communication at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has been held in the notorious CEDES prison ever since.

McDonough said Hammar was willing to leave the rifle at the Brownsville, Texas, border station and pick it up when he returned. If the CBP agents had adequately explained the potential consequences of being arrested in Mexico, Hammar would never have taken the shotgun across the border, McDonough said.

“If they looked at Jon and told him not to take it, he wouldn’t have,” McDonough said. “He tried to do everything legit.”

Michael Friel, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said it would be unlikely an agent would have led Hammar to believe he could have brought the shotgun, which had once belonged to his grandfather, into Mexico.

“CBP does not provide advice regarding the laws of foreign governments,” Friel said.

Friel also said that given the information available, it is unlikely an investigation will be undertaken into the U.S. agent’s alleged action.

But McDonough insisted that Hammar was so concerned about regulations that he even wanted to know what the tax would be for crossing with the numerous surfboards the avid surfer also carried.

Hammar’s attorney, Eddie Varon-Levy, said even if Hammar lacked necessary permits for the gun, he should have had the gun confiscated and received a fine, not a federal charge of aggravated felony of possessing a weapon used by the military.

“High-ranking Mexican military officials told me neither the rifle nor the ammunition is used by the military,” said Varon-Levy.

In an exclusive interview with FoxNews.com, McDonough described the harrowing last day of freedom for his friend.

As they made their way into Mexico in a vintage Winnebago after stopping at U.S. Customs in Brownsville, Texas, Hammar and McDonough were met by a Mexican official who told them to proceed over the bridge and into Mexico where they would meet a customs agent.

McDonough said Hammar readily told the Mexican customs officials he had the shotgun to declare and showed them the form he was given on the U.S. side.

“They told us to go into a building to fill out some forms,” McDonough said, thinking they were probably going to have to pay a small fine.

But things quickly turned sour.

“I told Jon, ‘I think we are going to get arrested,'” McDonough said.

The two Americans were told to get in a truck with police, who took them on a 30-minute drive through Matamoros to the city jail.

“We still didn’t think it was going to be a big deal because the police were joking with us, kind of like treating us as ‘dopey’ tourists,” McDonough said.

While in the jail, McDonough said he struck up a conversation with Mexican inmates who said they were surprised to see the Americans in the jail for such a minor infraction that should have been settled with a fine. McDonough said the police station and jail he and Hammar were initially brought to was nothing like a U.S. lockup.

“It was just terrible, the toilet, sink, and water supply were in the same place,” McDonough said. “There was no real evidence room so when we got inside there was cocaine and weed in the open.”

Hammar and McDonough spent most of the day being ignored in the jail, were told they were going to have to spend the night because it was too late to see the judge, McDonough recalled.

It would be two days before the men were able to see a public defender who did not speak English.

“I was lucky enough that I spoke some Spanish,” McDonough said. “They let me go because Jon took full responsibility.”

McDonough said he paid a $20 fine and was required to have his two thumb prints taken.

While standing outside the jail, McDonough was horrified to see his friend in handcuffs being led to a truck that would take him to the notorious CEDES prison.

“He told me to get out of Mexico as fast as I can because with both of us in jail nothing good can happen,” McDonough said.

McDonough said he and Hammar planned the surfing trip, which was to last a few months, to deal with the trauma of war. McDonough, who like Hammar is a combat veteran, is concerned about his friend and the absurdity of a weapons charge.

“We saw enough killing, we just wanted to get away,” he said.

Hammar is scheduled to have a court date Jan. 17.

Source: Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Supporters of Marine Jon Hammar wage social media campaign to win his freedom

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The plight of Marine veteran Jon Hammar, who has been in a Mexican prison for four months on what is being called a trumped-up federal weapon charge, has gained social media momentum, with a growing campaign calling for his release.

Anchoring the effort is www.facebook.com/FreeJonHammar, which has not only maintained news updates on his case but has also served as a venue for concerned citizens to express their frustration and anger at how the 27-year-old veteran of multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan is being treated in the notorious CEDES prison in Matamoros, Mexico.

“We never leave a brother behind. We never leave a Marine behind. We have to do something,” screams the title of the page.

Hammar was arrested Aug. 13 in Matamoros after he declared to Mexican customs agents a shotgun he planned to use for hunting in Costa Rica with fellow Marine veteran Ian McDonough. McDonough was also arrested, but later released because he did not own the weapon.

Prosecutors contend the rifle, an antique .410 gauge shotgun, is used by the Mexican military, a fact which has been refuted by high-ranking military officials, according to Hammar’s attorney Eddie Varon-Levy. The Sears Roebuck model shotgun also falls within the parameters of Mexican regulations for bringing a hunting rifle into the country. Hammar’s only perceived failure was to have the appropriate documentation.

Hammar’s arrest and confirmed incidents of death threats, extortion, and being chained to his bed in a prison controlled by members of the Los Zetas and Gulf Cartels have fueled national anger, which has been vented on the Facebook page.

With nearly 4,000 likes, the sentiments are vividly clear.

“Look i am a combat vet i am so tired of our government doing nothing……i have my own weapon and ammo and i know of other vets who would willing go and do what our government want do andthat is to go down and get him…..NO ONE LEFT BEHIND,” said Mike Walters in a post.

While many contributors advocated direct military SEAL-like rescue missions, others expressedfrustration in failed diplomatic efforts.

“This is an absolute outrage, where is our government? This man served this country and is anAmerican citizen,” said a poster identified as Anthony Greene.

U.S. Consulate officials in Mexico told Hammar’s family there is little that can be donediplomatically because of Mexican sovereignty.

Some of the Facebook comments provided political and economic suggestions.

“Boycott travel to Mexico. When the Mexican government admits that they are powerless over the drug cartels — why would we support them?” said Debbie Blair.

Seeing a lack in tangible diplomatic support, Hammar’s supporters are petitioning the White House for action.

Jon Hammar Sr., said his daughter, Jon Jr.’s younger sister and classmates at Wingate University in North Carolina, launched the petition campaign to bring her brother home. Hammar Sr., said, for his daughter’s safety, he requests keeping her from the press.

There are currently two active petitions. One at www.Change.org and the other directly petitioning President Barack Obama and the White House for action,https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/help-bring-jon-hammar-home

As of Saturday there were more than 15,500 signatures on the presidential petition, which requires 25,000 for review. Cited in the reasons for the petition are civil rights and liberties, human rights, and the rights of veterans and families.

Hammar supporters can also go to the Twitterhashtags #freejonhammer and #bringjonhammarhome.

Joseph J. Kolb is a regular contributor to FoxNews.com

Source: Fox World News

News, Politics, Government

Parents fight for release of Marine veteran son jailed in Mexico

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An American family is fighting to get their son, a Marine veteran, released from a prison in a dangerous area in Mexico while facing charges that he carried across the border a shotgun with barrel that’s an inch too short.

Jon Hammar and his friend were on their way to Costa Rica in August and planned to drive across the Mexican border near Matamoros in a recreational vehicle filled with surfboards and camping gear. Hammar, 27, asked U.S. border agents what to do with the unloaded shotgun, which his family said belonged to his great-grandfather.

“They examined it, they weighed it, they said you have to fill out this form,” his father, Jon Hammar, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday from his home near Miami.

But when the pair crossed the border and handed the paperwork to Mexican officials, they impounded the vehicle and jailed the men, saying it was illegal to carry that type of gun. Hammar’s friend was later released because the gun did not belong to him.

The family’s attorney said Mexican law prohibits civilians from carrying certain types of guns, like sawed-off shotguns, which can be more easily concealed. Mexican law prohibits shotguns with a barrel of less than 25 inches (63.5 centimeters). Family attorney Eddie Varon-Levy said Mexican officials measured the barrel on Hammar’s shotgun as 24 inches. It has not been sawed off.

Family members said the gun was purchased at Sears and blamed U.S. officials for telling Hammar he could bring it across the border in the first place.

Varon-Levy also questioned the way Mexican officials measured the gun, because the measurements can differ depending on where they are taken on the barrel.

He said dealing with Mexican authorities has also been difficult. He said Hammar was brought to court a few weeks ago, where officials tried to convince him to plead guilty without a lawyer present. Varon-Levy said he was never notified of the court date.

“I am fuming,” he said.

Hammar could face 12 years in prison, but Varon-Levy said that’s unlikely. He wants to get the charges downgraded, hoping Hammar can plead guilty to a lesser charge of carrying an unregistered weapon, which only carries a fine.

A call to the Mexican embassy in the U.S. was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hammar is being held in one of the most dangerous areas in Mexico.

Matamoros is the long-time headquarters of the Gulf Cartel, which has been engaged in a bloody struggle with its former security guards, the Zetas, since early 2010 for the lucrative drug routes along the eastern end of the Texas-Mexico border. An October 2011 fight among inmates at the prison left 20 dead and 12 injured.

At first Hammar was held with the general population, filled mostly with members of drug cartels. Now he is periodically chained to his bed in a cell by himself, said his father, he speaks with his son by phone occasionally.

“Sometimes he’s got his head on good. We’re like just, `Hang in there. We’re doing everything we can.’ Other days, it’s like, it’s not as good,” Jon Hammar said, sighing heavily and struggling to steady his voice.

In August, the family received a frightening middle-of-the-night phone call from the cartel demanding money, said Jon Hammar, a 48-year-old software engineer.

“`Lady, this isn’t about the police. This is our house. We have your son. We’re gonna kill him if you don’t send us money,”‘ Hammar said, recounting the phone call.

The couple planned to wire the money to an account, but officials at the U.S. consulate intervened and contacted prison officials. His son was moved into a private cell the next day, he said.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said the State Department must work incessantly to reunite Hammar with his family and said she’s disappointed the agency has not told her what efforts have been made.

The Miami Republican said she plans to contact the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol about Hammar’s arrest. His mother emailed Ros-Lehtinen and asked for help.

“The Hammar family has suffered a great deal since their son’s unjust incarceration in August and the details they have provided to my office are gripping and a clear abuse of Jon’s human rights,” she said in a statement.

The State Department did not return a call seeking comment.
Source: Fox US News