www.CostaRicaTicas.com

A Dominican chica of mine was told me yesterday that The HDR was raided bu immigration Friday night at 10pm. She said that they took out quite a few chicas. I left at 9:30 so I just missed it. I believe my amiga, but can't understand why this is the first mention of the incident.

After reading Bang bang's post about the raid at the Mansion and now this,it looks like our previous posts about Immigration turning the screws on our favorite activities now that dear ole Laura is in control.

I wonder if my next trip will be my last. I hear MDE is nice this time of year.

It is the first mention because
it's not important anymore.The CRT Army has been wrong for many years believing that these raids were Gringo driven, when in truth they are illegal resident driven...I guess the Army has smartened up...finally

Are things going to calm down (at least for a week or two) now since all these raids have happened in the last couple of days?

Things go back to normal in about 15-30 min. after the raids.

So instead of doing something to correct anyone of a million issues facing this country they go after whores...sad.

Ding ding!! Aspensam wins the prize! Drug dealers have taken over the country, but Laura is more concerned with casinos and working girls.

No need to worry about raids. If you ALWAYS carry your documents (passport bio page & entry stamp copy) on you, you have nothing to worry about from the police.

at the same time they were raiding hdr, they also descended on the Beatle Bar in Jaco. A couple of my colombiana friends had gone there looking for the vacation crowds. One of their friends whose paperwork wasn't in order got hauled off.

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Don't call 'em hookers. I tell my wife I'm here dealing with holesalers.

Time to stop being so paranoid every time a known gringo hangout gets raided. When you are looking for illegal prostitutes one of the places you look is where gringos will be. Just have your documents and everything will be over in a few minutes and you can get back to having pleasure with those ladies who have the proper documents to be in Costa Rica.

I know they are also looking for minors and drugs and that is a good thing. Making sure neither is where you are is a plus and keeping you out of a potentially serious situation. Many minors have false cedulas that might fool you but most likely not the police.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

So, how do we stay out of trouble if we can't tell if the cedula is real?

If you have the slightest doubt just say no thanks and move on. There are no guarantees you have to use your own best judgement. How do you know the ID of a chica in the states is real?

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

When I was in Colombia there was a raid on the Centro clubs. The lights came on and what looked like military personnel came in, with what appeared to be automatic rifles, and went through the crowd. When they came to me, they just looked, and went on to the locals. Never asked for any paperwork or said a word to me.

I have seen more low key "raids" happen in TJ also. There it is generally just a couple of Policia walking around looking for anything out of place.

IMO, it can happen at any mongering destination.

Health & happiness to all...............

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It's not the size of the wand that put the rabbit in the hat, it's the magic in it!!!

As I posted on another thread, I was in the Mansion with a gringo friend who recently moved here Friday afternoon when the police came in. There was nothing menacing about them, they were polite but all business, they did nothing nor did they act any differently than police anywhere in the world (yes, including the USA) would act when in a small crowded place with the always persent possibility of danger (there are loco maniacs everywhere today). There is, in my opinion, nothing to be overly concerned about in a raid here as long as you are doing nothing wrong, have the proper papers, and are polite. If you give the police (anywhere) reason to suspect you of something, yes they will persue the reason for your actions or attitude. Yes they had their hands on their gun butts or their nightsticks and a couple of them were even holding automatic rifles just as the police in the USA would do in a raid looking for und***ge prostitutes, drugs, and illegals

I think a lot of the problem here with the "fear" some gringos have of being caught in a raid and having a problem is more a fear based on "lack of knowledge", the uncertainity, the stories they have heard, the lack of knowledge of the language, or perhaps because they were doing something wrong. You are in a strange country, have heard horror stories,(many not totally accurate), you do not know what to expect so you are more afraid or apprehensive. If you are caught without your passport or copy, with even a small amount of drugs, with a und***ge chica, or drunk in public, yes you will in all probability have a problem. If you have your papers, are calm, show no reason for concern, are polite and courtious, and even better can converse with them in their language, odds are you will have no problem at all. They are usually not happy with what they are having to do (under orders) and therefore are not going to be in a great mood; but they are not looking for a conflict anymore than anyone else. And, as has been said many times, if you insist in dressing in cloths and doing things that make you standout even more than just "yep he is a gringo", you are going to draw attention and thus probably get more questions and scrutiny. The "I am an American and as such I am important and can do what I want and dress how I want" attitude may be true in your mind, but not in theirs-what they see is a gringo that is saying to them "I do not respect you nor your customs"!!! In 15 years here I have never worn shorts except at the beach, have never worn a loud shirt here, have never worn flip-flops except in the house and at the beach; AND I HAVE NEVER YET HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE POLICE HERE!!!! No, I do not totally blend in, but I do not draw unwanted attention either!! OH, and in the majority of cases here where a gringo has had a problem with the police here, he has been dressed in shorts, loud shirt, and flipflops; often drunk, frequently loud and obnoxious, and in many cases he has been a 60 something fat guy arm in arm with a 20 year old chica! That picture would grab anyone's attention and in many cases distrust and dislike!!! think about it!!!!

You are in their country not yours-show respect and (I have always found) they will show you respect! One thing many gringos who do not speak spanish do that really upset latinos is talk to them in english and like they should understand, then get upset when they don't!!! YOU are in THEIR country; English is NOT their language; why should a gringo expect Ticos to understand him????? You would not like it if a Mexicano in the states spoke to you in Spanish and got upset when you did not understand him-why would you do the same thing here in reverse??????

My personal opinion is that with the new president, the push by a very large group of monied and influenial Ticos to stop sex tourism, and the new immigration laws (aimed primarily at illegal "Latinos" in this country), the raids will continue and probably increase in number. So we as gringos better accept it and ajust to it if we plan to continue coming here and living here. The MPs and other places where prostitution is going on are going to be the places where the police will raid looking for drugs, illegals, and und***ge chicas, therefore we need to accept and be prepared for the raids (without fear as long as you are doing nothing wrong and have nothing to hide) JMHO

And everything ID said --+1!!! Especially about the und***ge chicas. If she looks too young, run!!!! Some of these chicas have cedulas that even the police have trouble with--In a recent case, it took the police 3 days to determine that an und***ge chica's cedula was a fake--they even allowed her to go back to work for 2 days. The problem for you as a gringo is, no matter how perfect her papers may appear, if they turn out to be fake and she is und***ge, YOU ARE IN TROUBLE!!!!!

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Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

I'm not trying to be funny, but if I wear shorts and flip flops but have my passport copy, have a very pleasant and respectful attitude, speak Spanish, do not associate with minors, don't posses drugs and am not falling down drunk, can I expect to be okay in one of these raids?

Yea, just make sure you skip the Hawaiian shirt. In matters of atire, that`s actually what does you in....