Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi's stay in a Mexican prison is finally over, and he is now back home with his family.
The U.S. Marine was released Friday and returned home on a private plane with his mother, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and other supporters, and arrived at an airport in South Florida on Saturday around 6 a.m., according to Fox News.
214 days were spent in prison after Tahmooressi was arrested in March for crossing into Tijuana with three weapons in his truck, which is illegal in Mexico. The Marine said he was on his way to dinner at the time and that what he did was an innocent mistake.
Tahmooressi's release came from an effort involving Richardson, Reps. Ed Royce (R-CA) and Matt Salmon (R-AZ), as well as talk show host Montel Williams, who all met with Mexico's Attorney General and Ambassador to the U.S. to persuade him to free the soldier, Fox News reported.
"The totality of diplomacy, the judicial process, the legal strategy and the importance of the American-Mexican relationship resulted in Andrew's release," Richardson said. "And now we have this great outcome. Andrew's coming home."
The seven-month stay ended when Tahmooressi's defense attorney Fernando Benitez argued that the Marine wasn't receiving treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) while in prison. Andrew was diagnosed with the condition on March 12th, having suffered from it after two tours in Afghanistan, and Benitez said his condition was getting worse and Mexico didn't have the facilities or ability to treat it.
"The judicial process of Mexico made the right choice," Richardson said. "The humanitarian release was justified based on PTSD, something that the Mexican judicial and medical system is not as conscious of as the United States."
The White House received a large amount of criticism for not working harder to free Tahmooressi despite his service and the fact that he suffered PTSD, Fox News reported.
Richardson said Tahmooressi was very happy and smiling when he was processed through immigration, and that receiving treatment for his condition was a top priority. He added that the Marine said he wanted a steak dinner with stone crabs.
