The family of Jon Hammar, the US Marine veteran who was arrested in Mexico on a bogus gun charge was holding out hope that he might be set free and be home by Christmas. A letter from a Mexican diplomat smacked down those hopes and also took a shot at the US government in a veiled reference to Operation Fast and Furious.

The two-page missive from Mexican Ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan to Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who has been aggressively advocating for Hammar’s release, leaves little hope of a diplomatic solution. In it, Sarukhan takes a thinly veiled swipe at the U.S., blaming it for gun proliferation south of the border.

“As you know well, Mexico has had very stringent gun-control laws in place for many years, and have reinforced their application as a result of the flow of weapons illicitly purchased in the U.S. and then trafficked into Mexico and into the hands of transnational criminal organizations,” Sarukhan wrote.

Hammar has been stuck in a notorious, drug cartel-controlled prison just 15 miles south of the U.S. border since Aug. 13, after he crossed into Mexico and declared an antique shotgun to Mexican customs officials.

Sarukhan failed to mention that Tamaulipas, the state which the CEDES prison in Matamoros is located, is controlled by the Los Zetas Cartel, arguably the most vicious of the cartels.  (Read More)

The State Department hasn’t been at all helpful to Hammar or his family. Also, there is now a call for Americans to boycott Mexico and stop vacationing there as long as Hammar is locked up and chained to his bed.