This is possibly the first time the AP has mentioned this story. Jon Hammar was in a notorious, cartel-controlled prison from August to yesterday and they didn´t print a word until he was released. Why? My guess is that they were covering up the fact that the Obama administration sat on their hands and did absolutely nothing while this hero rotted. The tale is easily spun but when you get the specifics it´s clearly a story of someone trying to follow the law and being punished horrifically for someone else´s mistake.

I hope he´ll be able to recover. He´s already faced deployments in both Iraq and Afghanistan and now this. I´m glad he´s out but I´m furious at the disinterest in this story.

How much money did his family have to pay the corrupt Mexicans?

Hammar bought that little Winnebago, and had all his possessions with him. He has suffered post traumatic shock, and he and a buddy were on their way to surf in Costa Rica. He did check with customs, did everything the right way and this stinks to high heaven.
Mexico is no place for any American to go anymore. In fact, thanks to Obama, Americans would be wise to not travel out of the country.

Praise The Lord!

Boycott mexico. There is no reason to go there. Ever.

Detaining the ex-Marine chained to a bed in a jail cell for months on trumped up charges stunk to high heaven, especially after it was reported throughout the USA that the Mexicans attempted to extort money from his family in Florida.

The PR for Mexico is so bad that it will probably keep a lot of US tourists from going to Mexico this winter. The Mexicans had no choice but to do an about face and get rid of the guy, or watch as a lot of their tourist industry goes down the tubes.

Anyone going to Costa Rica should use commercial air, and forget about driving through Mexico, where you can easily be robbed, raped, murdered, or arrested on trumped up charges or experience a combination of those factors.

Did the Mexican "government" return his stolen property and compensate him for his (monetary) losses?

It´s freakin´ Mexico !

He´s lucky to be alive.

The state-sucking AP can mention this now that it´s resolved. They couldn´t mention it before because that might have put some pressure on the president to do something, and Valerie Jarrett is busy.

Almost all of these type operations are extortions. I watched many examples while we lived there. This has been going on forever. The only people that are safe travelling in mexico are broke hippie orphans.

I hope some well off person can send him to Costa Rica by airplane so he can go surfing!! Hang Ten Marine!! Merry Christmas!

amen #11..you know that will happen.. Marines will step up to the plate..
Kudos to Rep. Ros-Lehtinen...I think we all need to send her a thank you for her efforts. I had contacted my Reps. and Senator´s in Ohio..but don´t know if they helped in any way.

Praise the Lord. I pray God´s blessings and healing for him in every way. Semper Fi, sir.

I can´t think of anything that would EVER make me take another trip to Mexico. Nothing.

Thank you Bill Oreilly and FoxNews for putting this on the air until he was released. All the other networks didn´t think this was important enough to air.

I´ve been to Mexico several times and was getting more and more comfortable crossing the border. And then it turned ugly. My fine, if that´s what you want to call it, was the exact amount I had in my pocket. He did give me $2.00 back so I could get across the bridge. Funny thing: they don´t give receipts in Mexico. Never been back.

2 and 15, our experiences were the same way back in the 1970s. Their border police shook us down, us in our VW bug with a 2 year old kid in tow. Have been back to Mexico on only two occasions since, both as cruises´ ports of call. Would not even consider a cruise now that includes those.

The problem with the American tourists who visit Mexico regularly is that they are usually too drunk and addled by the sun to care about the politics and corruption of the country. The tequila is good, the service is good and they don´t care that they are being played for rich fools.

Wonderful news.

Up here in MA, they make sure they do not name the congresswoman. Just some anonymous, partyless federal employee who mildly intervened in this fiasco. I´ve watched this lady and admire her. And I´m glad o´reilly joined in. He, at least, has a world stage. Our media cannot ignore or cover up his show the way they can a republican politician.

From what I gathered, that area is heavily run by one of the drug cartels, perhaps Holder traded more guns....

Mexico is a beautiful country and has great natural resources in addition to tourism. They have squandered it because the people had no vision for freedom and prosperity which requires sacrifice and determination. Our ancestors did the hard work to provide us a country rich in opportunity. Not many want to work to achieve freedom, they want it given to them. I have no desire to travel to Mexico again. They want to take from us what they have not earned.

Fox & Rep. Ilena is all the help he received....sad...

What #14 & #22 said. We watched the hyena-looking-senator-bill-nelson from FL on O´Reilly the other night giggle his way through questions about Jon Hammar. Now, nelson and the rest of the scrum will try and take credit for the release. Jon Hammar´s parents went on FNC because the "state-department" would NOT do anything. THEY know what happened.. Merry Christmas Hammar family!

Great news!
Bless all those involved... and Merry Christmas Hammar family!

Don´t be surprised when we are told that Hillary did this single-handedly- even though she is suffering from an open head wound or whatever.

Time to boycott Mexico my fellow Americans.....

The french learned what WE the people can do to "trade" when WE get POed.....

obama didn´t want to hurt the mexican dictator´s feelings by telling him what to do.........like release my fellow American.....

Semper Fi -- "ex" (no such thing as an EX Marine)-Marine......

LZK

So it took a female member of the House to make this happen. Way to step up, men of congress! Just darn glad that the ex-marine is home.

A substantial portion of the tourist trade in mexico comes from current and former mexican nationals who travel there with gringo dollars stuffed in their pockets. This is just another economic insult from mexicans who reside in USA who mostly resent this country. First they sneak in and suck billions out of the social welfare systems. mexicans also send an estimated $30 billion each year back to relatives in the old country. Boycott western union too.

Thanks, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (and others)! Now THAT´S how you win re-election.

Sorry to disappoint you, #19, but the Boston Globe mentioned the congresswoman by name and quoted her, as did several other news outlets up here.

To all you "low information" Americans: Mexico is a narco-state. Stay out of Mexico. Boycott Mexico. Mexicans, here and there, hate your guts.

on her web site she credits..Marco Rubio, Mike Thompson and Bill Nelson by name..I did send her a thank you email...she doesn´t accept emails from out of her district..but of course, you know how to get around that..

Also, Props to Bill O´Reilly for hammering this story nightly on his show.

If he and his parents were affiliated with the Republican Party, maybe that would explain why the Obama people were not interested in doing anything.

This young soldier could have been released early on by our dear president. I had heard Bill O´Reilly was also partly responsible for his release?

La Rasa tells its people that when they come to the US they come as conquerors retaking land once owned by Mexico. They march in our streets and tell us what they will do when they get the vote. When we show no enthusiasm for that, they call us "nativists". I guess the fence will never be built now. What else can go wrong? I feel as though I am in a House of Horrors.

I noticed too that he was released within 24 hours after Congressman Duncan Hunter called for a boycott of Mexico.

Amazing how much power that word "boycott" holds. I remember May 1, 2006 when Mexicans boycotted America and protested in our streets; basically biting the hand that feeds them and showing such disrespect and ingratitude. And I won´t ever forget it. I began my own boycott of Mexico on that day, and haven´t stopped. - except for an occasional avocado when others aren´t available; and I will never travel there. I realize that I can´t avoid all things Mexican, but because of their actions on that day, I try.

Proud to see our Florida Rep (who also wisely married a Finn) as the driving force behind Hammar´s release.

Mexico´s justice system is Napoleonic Code. You are guilty until proven innocent. Amenicans need to learn about these rules.
As soon as Hammar shows up in Mexico with a rifle or shotgun, whether grand pas or an antique, he has violated their laws and goes to Jail. The mexican govt deos not want guns brought into Mexico. Nor ammo.Their laws mean business and you are jailed. It is not Marquis de Queensbury rules down there.
You can´t get your information from a border guard. Better find out ahead from someone who knows. Don´t fool around with them. Don´t send yr kids there, don´t go camping or surfing there.
I went dn there every week for years to do business. I got the insurance, the right one, drove over. Was careful and lucky.
But I had a sinking feeking that like the poster above, things were changing.SO I parked on the US and walked across. But never saw an accident as the mexican drivers know they will be tossed in jail and are very careful. Hamar should never go back to mexico, ever.

Just heard a little while ago (on Fox) that his mother has told them that he has been hospitalized in Lousiana. He and his father are on the way home to Florida. Cannot find a story about it.

There is nothing in Mexico worth risking your life and freedom for. And let’s not forget that Mexico is now all the more dangerous thanks to Eric Holder and Obama reinforcing the firepower of the Cartels with Fast and Furious weapons, which, by the way, will be on Mexican streets for decades to come.

"Fox & Friends" also covered this story every day, not just O´Reilly.

Very thankful the young man is coming home.

He is looking for some self healing for his PTSD but it´s too bad the road to that took him through Mexico. Mexico is quickly becoming a lawless nation which it is why military people are told not to cross the border for cheap deals and fun. Camp Pendleton is only a skip and a jump away from the border and they avoid Mexico like the plague after jarheads became targets. I wonder if he checked with them in his planning.

The gentleman is a former Marine. There is only one "ex" Marine, and that´s Lee Oswald. Jack Murtha was working on becoming Ex-Marine Number Two, but he died before the paperwork could be completed.

Flying to South America? Schedule your flights to miss Mexico City Airport. I went through there 2 years ago. LAN Airlines receive no mention on their arrival and departure screens. It increases the difficulty in understanding where your boarding gate is. In fact, at the information booth, the woman claimed to not know anything about LAN airlines. Unacceptable.

Anyone going to mexicao unarmed is a fool.
it is illegal to be armed in Mexico
Anyone going to Mexico is a fool

He should have just told them the gun was a gift for the drug cartels from Barack Obama and Eric Holder. Then everything would have been okay.

I have zero desire to go to Mexico. None. I think the place is like another planet and worse.

And "La Raza" and all of the other Chicano organizations want the American Southwest to be like Mexico? Why? To turn the formerly great United States into a POS country like their "homeland"? Why come here if you want the US to be just like corrupt, violent, fetid, stinking Mexico?