GOP rep.: Marine jailed in Mexico for ‘simple mistake’

Rep. Paul Cook (R-Calif.) on Monday said that retired Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi was held in a Mexican jail for too long for a “simple mistake.”

Tahmooressi returned home to Florida on Saturday after he was jailed in March for crossing the Mexican border with loaded guns in his car. He has said he had no intention of illegally bringing the guns into Mexico, but he was detained nonetheless.

{mosads}A Mexican judge released him based on his mental state, as Tahmooressi suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Afghanistan. 

“This should have been done as soon as it became clear that he’d made a simple mistake and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder,” Cook said in a statement.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing last month during the seven-week pre-election congressional recess on Tahmooressi’s situation that featured testimony from his mother.

“We can never leave one of our troops behind, and I’m happy that now he’ll be able to receive the treatment he needs back in the United States,” said Cook, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.