VIP Treatment of Tahmooressi Continues

Former Imprisoned Marine attends State of the Union address

Andrew Tahmooressi, the former marine who was imprisoned in Mexico for seven months after crossing into the country with three illegal weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammo, and then released on unprecedented humanitarian grounds, was the special guest of Rep. Duncan Hunter at President Obama's State of the Union address in Washington, D.C.

Last Halloween evening, the former marine was released and allowed to return to the U.S. on the unprecedented grounds that Mexico's prison system is required to be rehabilitative, and cannot care for people that allegedly suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Tahmooressi is reportedly receiving care for this condition now in Florida.

The invitation to the State of the Union address is just another in a slew of VIP treatment privileges extended to Mr. Tahmooressi. Shortly after his release, Donald Trump reportedly wrote a check for $25,000 to Tahmooressi. Trump hoped that this money would go toward Tahmooressi and not his lawyers, which is very well likely given that his Mexican defense team initially indicated that they were representing him pro bono.

One interesting factor that was used in the defense to push for Tahmooressi's release was his addiction to marijuana since the age of 18. Whereas in most cases, the use of marijuana in conjunction with commission of a crime such as illegally bringing weapons into another country would not be a mitigating factor, in Tahmooressi's case it was.

In addition to seeking treatment for PTSD, Tahmooressi was also released to seek treatment for his marijuana addiction. An article published by Zeta shortly after his release reported that earlier on the day of his arrest for entering the country with three weapons (including an assault rifle and over 400 rounds of ammo) Tahmooressi had been detained by Tijuana municipal police who, while conducting a routine inspection found Tahmooressi in possession of marijuana in his pockets.

The routine inspection took place as Tahmooressi was leaving the notorious Hong Kong Gentlemen's Club in downtown Tijuana, with a stripper in tow. Tahmooressi then reportedly bribed police and returned to the U.S. to collect his truck, which was in a public parking lot in San Ysidro, with all of his possessions on board which included the improperly transported and stored weapons and ammo.

In addition to the unprecedented "immediate release" of Tahmooressi on humanitarian grounds, was the special treatment he received throughout his custody, and up until his release by the government on both sides of the border. While detained, Tahmooressi was afforded more rights than the average prisoner, which included a private cell, additional allotted telephone calls and visitation privileges.

Upon his release, a whole border lane was shut down and Tahmooressi was escorted in consular cars across the border. Once in the U.S., a privately chartered plane was waiting for him along with former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson and television personality Montel Williams. Contrary to normal protocol, Tahmooressi was not handcuffed as he was escorted to and across the border, and he was allowed to wear civilian clothes, presumably so that he would be photo-ready as he walked across the border and up the stairs of the private jet.

In the week leading up to his release, Bill Richardson was in Tijuana where he was one of the highest paid speakers at the Tijuana Innovadora summit. Bill Richardson has dedicated some of his post-gubernatorial time negotiating high profile hostage exchanges and has boasted of his involvement in the release of Tahmooressi. The Mexican Federal Government has claimed that the former marine's release was simply the result of the judicial process, not external pressure. The fact that a high-profile negotiator was in the country during the same week that the immediate release of Tahmooressi was ordered was merely coincidence, or so you are asked to believe.

The entire Tahmooressi saga hinged upon the portrayal of a former marine suffering from PTSD making an innocent mistake, and missing his last U.S. exit. Never mind the fact that his possession and transportation of high caliber weapons would have also been a crime in California -- and likely the many other states that he passed through on his way from Florida to the west coast.

In an Op-Ed piece written by Bill Richardson a couple of weeks after Tahmooressi's release, he stated that this unprecedented decision fell in line with the goals of the Merida Initiative, which was initiated in 2008 to curb illicit arms trafficking and to boost judicial reform. In the article, Richardson states that "although it took a long time to accomplish, the most important lesson is that Andrew is free because Mexico's judicial reforms sought by the Merida Initiative are beginning to work."

If that is so, as mentioned in the same Zeta article, it will be interesting to see whether the estimated five-thousand psychiatric patients incarcerated in Baja California without hope of rehabilitation will benefit from the "Tahmooressi Precedent" --or whether any of the other 110 foreigners arrested in 2012 for similar weapons offenses will have their cases reviewed.

In that same article, Richardson goes on to boast that he managed to expedite the immigration processing upon Tahmooressi's release, thus shortening his time in custody by a day, and that he was granted permission to personally deliver clothing to Tahmooressi so that he "wouldn't have to go through the humiliation of entering the U.S. in prison garb."

It is striking that through one side of his mouth, Richardson is saying that the judicial system worked like it was supposed to, and through the other side he is stating that special favors and privileged treatment is to be applauded and praised. Duncan Hunter is only furthering this message by inviting Mr. Tahmooressi as his special guest at the State of the Union address.

borderzonie@gmail.com

@borderzonie

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