TITLE
RESOLUTION URGING THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT FEDERAL AGENCIES TO INTERVENE AND SECURE THE PROMPT RELEASE OF FORMER UNITED STATES MARINE JON HAMMAR FROM HIS UNJUST DETENTION IN A MEXICAN JAIL

BODY
WHEREAS, 27yearold former United States Marine Jon Hammar is currently being held in a Mexican jail for bringing into Mexico a 60yearold shotgun that once belonged to his great-grandfather; and
WHEREAS, a United States Customs & Border Protection agent at the border told Hammar that it was not illegal to take the shotgun across the border provided that Hammar registered it, which he did; and
WHEREAS, once Hammar was on the Mexican side of the border, however, Mexican authorities disregarded the registration and he was taken into custody on August 13, 2012 for possession of the shotgun; and
WHEREAS, several days later on August 18, Mexican prosecutors, based on Hammar�s possession of the 60-year old shotgun, charged Hammar with possession of a weapon restricted for use only by the Mexican military, a serious charge under Mexican law that carries a sentence of between three and twelve years imprisonment; and
WHEREAS, Mexican criminals routinely wield AK-47 and other assault rifles, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, Hammar�s 60-year old shotgun came nowhere near fitting this category; and
WHEREAS, for the last four months, Hammar has been held in deplorable conditions in a Mexican jail that has included being chained to a bed in a very small cell; and
WHEREAS, in addition, Hammar�s family in Palmetto Bay has received calls from fellow inmates threatening Hammar�s life if his family did not send them money; and
WHEREAS, Hammar�s unjust detention in a Mexican jail is particularly disturbing given that he is someone who has served his country as a United States Marine in combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq; and
WHEREAS, following high school, Hammar joined the Marines and deployed to Afghanistan and then Iraq; and
WHEREAS, in Afghanistan, Hammar�s unit provided security for President Hamid Karzai, protected election polls and disrupted insurgent cells around Kabul; and
WHEREAS, in Iraq, Hammar�s Marine battalion was involved in intense fighting in Fallujah, one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq, with 13 members of the battalion killed in action and more than 100 wounded; and
WHEREAS, Hammar received an honorable discharge in 2007 and served another four years on inactive reserve; and
WHEREAS, following the brutality of war he experienced in Afghanistan and Iraq, Hammar did not have an easy re-entry into civilian life, dealing with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder; and
WHEREAS, surfing was the one thing that brought him mental peace; and
WHEREAS, Hammar and a friend bought a Winnebago motor home and planned a trip to Costa Rica to surf off the coast there; and
WHEREAS, Hammer was arrested for having the shotgun when he crossed the border into Mexico in the Winnebago en route to Costa Rica to surf; and
WHEREAS, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Hammar�s congressional representative and Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as Senator Bill Nelson and other federal elected officials have been working with the State Department to secure Hammar�s release; and
WHEREAS, this Board would like to join Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, Senator Bill Nelson and other federal elected officials in strongly urging the United States Secretary of State and all other relevant federal agencies to intervene and secure the prompt release of Hammar from his unjust detention in a Mexican jail,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the United States Secretary of State and all other relevant federal agencies to intervene and secure the prompt release of former United States Marine Jon Hammar from his unjust detention in a Mexican jail.
Section 2. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the members of the Florida Congressional Delegation and the United States Secretary of State.
Section 3. Directs the County�s federal lobbyists to advocate for the action set forth in Section 1 above and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to amend the 2012 and 2013 federal legislative packages to include this item.