WESTON, Fla. – The American government is working as fast as possible to help a U.S. Marine from Weston who is being jailed in Mexico.
Andrew Tahmooressi, 25 was arrested in Tijuana, Mexico, on April 1 as he was trying to cross the border.
His mother says Andrew didn't realize he was about to cross the border and that he simply made a wrong turn.
Andrew was driving to California with all of his possessions, including three firearms. His mother says he has post-traumatic stress disorder and was headed to California to get treatment.
It is illegal to bring firearms into Mexico, therefore Mexican authorities in Tijuana seized Andrew's belongings and also took him into custody.
Andrew's mother says he is in jail with the general population and tried to escape that particular area in the prison once because he feared for his life.
"He said, 'Mom, I escaped to a safer part of the jail,' and I said, 'What, you escaped?" says his mother, Jill Maire Tahmooressi. "He said, 'Mom I had to. They were going to rape me. They were going to torture me. They were going to murder me, and they showed me the body bag they were going to carry me out in.'"
Tahmooressi says she got a hold of U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., for help.
Her office released a statement saying, "The congresswoman read Ms. Tahmooressi's letter with concern and instructed her staff to get in touch with the State Department right away to ensure that Andrew's case was being handled as expeditiously as possible."
Andrew's loved ones have set up a Facebook page for people to sign a petition to help get him home. To sign the petition click here