Sosua Reports

"Today, TSA secures the nation's airports and screens all commercial airline passengers and baggage. TSA uses a risk-based strategy and works closely with transportation, law enforcement and intelligence communities to set the standard for excellence in transportation security."

[url]http://www.tsa.gov/about-tsa[/url]

Stop with your bullshit dude. No airline is going to hold a plane (and that long) waiting for someone who has been caught up in security. Do you know how much that shit would cost them? Definitely more than your $400 ticket. The longest they would wait is the time it took to take your bag off the plane.

I didn't want to say anything on is because things change. I worked law enforcement for 7 years. Security for the state. I even was offered a job as a TSA supervisor back in 2003. I understand Customs and TSA jobs. I have never seen or heard (besides to day) of TSA checking for anytime besides metals, liquids, passport, ticket and sharp objects. I ever seen them working anywhere beyond boarding the airport gates entry. They don't have arresting powers or the power to question you about were you are going! Customs is a different story! I have missed my plane twice because of them. Hell no the plane doesn't wait on you! Not 5 minutes let along 40+. They will not charge you extra if you miss your flight and you tell them (AA. Delta. Etc) you were held by customs. I am not saying bullshit, but its like telling me you met Eve at CMP's and she gave you pussy on the house.

My personal take for me on this discussion is that I believe there is a lot of sensitivity on drugs coming in through the DR. Not to long ago coming back into new york when we got off the plane all of us were lined up and had around 10 customs agents stand there as they had a dog walk back and forth before we even got processed through customs. That is the first time I ever had that happen to me and tells me customs must be seeing a lot of drugs coming through the DR. Actually, if you read all the reports the DR is becoming a huge drug shipment point for cocaine. Again, I always like to observe everything and if you look at uptown new york (Washington Heights) brand new nightclubs are opening up everywhere and real estate development is exploding uptown. Again some of this is due to improving conditions in the real estate market in new york, but a lot has to do with a lot of drug money being laundered through nightclubs and other businesses. The area is booming uptown new york and you always have to ask why that is because other areas are not as hot as that area.

[QUOTE=Shamester; 1499018]Thanks for the posts guys. A nice reminder to be low key and show you are going to the DR for the beaches.

Law of unintended consequences. A reason not to bring chica gifts. TSA shakedowns LOL! Spin it to your advantage.[/QUOTE]Continual interesting insights that are of global use.

[QUOTE=Coole Mr;1499226]Stopped about a year ago by Customs agent leaving the plane in Miami, asked me if I bought my ticket at the last minute with cash, (no) Do you have $10,000 cash money on you. (no). Can we check your carry on luggage with the dog. (sure). Any Drugs, or liquor (no). Can you wait a minute we want to check your carry on with another dog that is on the way. (starting to get pissed). Second dog shows up and sniffs my carry on finds nothing, I tell the Customs agent what's wrong with first dog he have a cold. He told me to take this serious because this was for national security, I told him he was profiling. We took a couple of steps toward each other when another agent step between us and tells me to go catch my flight before I get in trouble. This event took 30 minutes and I was just getting off the plane. I was so mad when I left there I was ready to fight everyone in the Miami airport. Customs has the authority to treat you like a criminal.[/QUOTE]Everyone on here should be very clear that Customs agents have a tremendous amount of power and can do just about anything they think is necessary to guard our country from whatever Congress decides we need to be guarded against. They can take everything you have apart, and they don't have to put it back together for you. They can break your stuff, and they don't have to pay for it. You never want to [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] off a customs agent. The appropriate response to any of their questions and comments is to remain calm and be polite. You can't win any fight with them!

BTW, if you aren't smuggling, why even sweat the load? Take it easy on these people because they have a shitty, thankless job, and everyone they meet either fears them, hates them, or both. What kind of life is that? So if you show a little courtesy, they might even reciprocate.

I have been held up a couple of times over the years, and don't appreciate the probing questions any more than anyone else. But it is not that hard to figure out what the agents are trying to do. They want to get a reaction because even if they aren't experts in reading emotional responses, there are always special agents either in the vicinity or watching remotely to see if you exhibit telltale behaviors. Every day that goes by refines the capabilities of these police agencies. As we sheep pass through the lines, they are looking for the goats. Don't act like a goat, and you will probably get through with less trouble.

One of the basic security techniques is always going to be a random shot against some person coming in. If you travel a lot, your chances of getting to be the randomly selected victim goes up. So even though it is natural to think that you are being picked on, that isn't necessarily true. If you get lucky, you are going to get the third degree no matter how innocent you are. If it happens every time you enter the country, then you probably need to take some kind of action, like hiring a lawyer and finding out why you are on the sh_tlist.

As pointed out by others, TSA is a whole 'nother ballgame. You can get yourself all worked up about how screwed up the whole process is, but at the end of the day, you have to give the whole mess to Congress. Why take out your frustrations on the poor saps on the front line? My experience with TSA has been 100% friendly, and I travel a lot. I guess that's because I always treat them like fellow human beings with a crummy job they have to do to pay the bills. Anyone who has ever worked retail knows exactly how 99% of the people are really quite nice, but that 1% of arrogant, mean-spirited, as_holes can really set you down the wrong attitude road. And of course, the next person, innocent and naïve, often is the one who gets the reaction, even if you are trying to get back into the positive zone. But if that next person is uptight, pushy, condescending, etc, etc, then it starts to accumulate, and anyone will eventually just lose it, or start to dish it out. So instead of upping the ante, ratchet it back down by showing some consideration. You might be pleasantly surprised and feel all warm and fuzzy instead of getting all bent out of shape.

Rumba was full of chicas in the late afternoon!

I'm Canadian-Egyptian, so for a middle eastern its a different story, when they find condom, alcohol and Viagra with me, then its all good, I'm safe and they let me go.

LOOOL

[QUOTE=Revere;1499445]My personal take for me on this discussion is that I believe there is a lot of sensitivity on drugs.[/QUOTE]

The DR isn't becoming a drug spot? It has always been a drug spot. It is so easy for ships to dock on that island. If drugs are being transported by sea it goes to DR, then PR, then Florida. When I used to go to PR, ages ago, it was a hassle just getting through security, because of the drug issue. (PR eventually had a bigger problem-fake birth certificates. Because of this they had to revamp the authenticity of certificates [40% of all false USA passports were based on fake birth certificates from Puerto Rico]). If you were Dominican all you had to do is make it to Puerto Rico (paying someone to illegally dock on the island, or to illegally take the ferry from DR to PR [not all Puerto Ricans who visit the DR come by plane. Some take the ferry back and forth, directly from Puerto Rico.)

What people would do is get a fake birth certificate, follow this up with other fake I'd, get a passport (if need be) , and enter the country. If you were a drug dealer from the DR this is the route to go. After 2010 this is much harder to do. Also, anyone who knows anything about PR can see that drugs are rampant on the island.

I recall the last time I was in Santo Domingo, years ago. Me and a chica crossed the bridge to Calle Valenzuela. This was a Tuesday night and the entire strip was empty, except for the club "Side. ' It was packed. When I looked at the prices of some of the items (anything from snatching a chica, to the cost of drinks) I mentioned to my chica that things were so expensive that only a drug dealer could afford these prices. She responded "what do you think these guys are?" We were surrounded by Dominican Drug posses, from Washington Heights!

When I was in Boca Chica a group of guys from Philly were being shown some of the casas by a Dominican guy. This guy spoke what I would call megaslang English (the slang you hear in the streets, Multiply it by 100). This guy was trying to over hustle. I even mentioned to the group that this guy had alot of game. He had too much game (it was actually quite comical). He was a Dominican who made it to the States, lived in Washington Heights, and was deported (most probably for drugs). When I used to hear of Dominican drug gangs getting arrested, they would usually have a couple of illegals, who would get deported, only to show up in the States several months later (get themselves arrested again, with the cops saying "hey, didn't we go through this before with you?).

This reminds me of my cousin, who was incarcerated at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan (for, out of all things, climbing the crown of the Statue of Liberty!). Well, my cousin is PR and the correction officers hooked up his group with a Russian gang, expecting both groups to fight. Even though they barely understood each other the groups got along just fine. What little my cousin could comprehend he said that the Russians admitted to being innocent of any crimes. I added that they were in there for drugs. He was surprised, since this was the charges against them and wondered how I knew. An interesting population entering the DR are the Russians. You will even see an occasional devushka around (some of their casas charge a fortune.) The Russians who live and travel there, regularly, do so for three reasons:drugs, money laundering, and prostitution. Sometimes you might confuse them for regular tourists but their not. Also, they usually do not hang around the tourist areas.

I was talking to a buddy of mine. He was gambling at the casino in Sosua. About 4:00 AM in the morning (the place was closing up) a drunk Russian starts knocking on the doors. The casino recognized him as a regular, and let the guy in. The Russian spent a fortune (I would tell you the sum but I do not believe it, even though it came from a reliable source). I guess this is why the owner let him in, knowing the house would make a fortune. The Russian lived on the island. I can only imagine what he did to earn this money.

The most intense drug bust I've ever heard was in Washington Heights, many years ago. The NYPD was staking out the area of 156th St, and St Nicholas. After over a year and a half they descended on the place. They closed off the streets, had helicopters and police cars swarm the area, jammed all radio signals, and the first thing they took out was the apartment that served as a communication center for the drug dealers in the neighborhood. Arrested alot of people that night.

What used to happen in the Heights was that many restaurants and bodegas would have difficulty getting the money for all the licenses needed to open up their places (food licenses, liquor licenses, meet Fire Department regulations, etc) so a gun or drug dealer was willing to lend the money on the condition of using some of the business space to store weapons, or drugs. (the tricky part was that after a while it became difficult getting these guys out.

One restaurant ponied up the money by having a numbers guy in the bag room, paying rent. The guy was there for years. The neighborhood loved him. Caused no trouble whatsoever. After a while these Dominican places became more creative. They would have hidden slot machines, in a back room. They would sell penicillin, viagra, and shots of mamajuana (eventhough they do not have the liquor license to do so. Just thinking about it, I do not know if it is even legal to sell home made mamajuana?).

One time I was looking for an apartment in the Heights. One guy showed me a place and practically all the sheet rock was removed. There were only slats and studs. The guy was evasive about what happened. I asked my buddy about it and he explained that the police must have come to the place, looking for drugs, and tore the walls down. Putting this and other pieces together the only thing the apartment was lacking was the chalk outline of a dead body.

I eventually lived in Washington Heights for man years and drugs were a common part of the landscape. If you did not bother the drug dealer they would not bother you. When I first moved in, about two months later, a drug gang approached my landlord to inquire about me. He explained that I worked for the government but that I minded my own business. I was not going to bother them. They left me alone. The drug dealers were actually quite courteous whenever I passed by.

The Heights has some decent people but also alot of drugs.

[QUOTE=El Lobo Solo; 1499545]Everyone on here should be very clear that Customs agents have a tremendous amount of power and can do just about anything they think is necessary to guard our country from whatever Congress decides we need to be guarded against. They can take everything you have apart, and they don't have to put it back together for you. They can break your stuff, and they don't have to pay for it. You never want to [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] off a customs agent. The appropriate response to any of their questions and comments is to remain calm and be polite. You can't win any fight with them!

BTW, if you aren't smuggling, why even sweat the load? Take it easy on these people because they have a shitty, thankless job, and everyone they meet either fears them, hates them, or both. What kind of life is that? So if you show a little courtesy, they might even reciprocate.

I have been held up a couple of times over the years, and don't appreciate the probing questions any more than anyone else. But it is not that hard to figure out what the agents are trying to do. They want to get a reaction because even if they aren't experts in reading emotional responses, there are always special agents either in the vicinity or watching remotely to see if you exhibit telltale behaviors. Every day that goes by refines the capabilities of these police agencies. As we sheep pass through the lines, they are looking for the goats. Don't act like a goat, and you will probably get through with less trouble.

One of the basic security techniques is always going to be a random shot against some person coming in. If you travel a lot, your chances of getting to be the randomly selected victim goes up. So even though it is natural to think that you are being picked on, that isn't necessarily true. If you get lucky, you are going to get the third degree no matter how innocent you are. If it happens every time you enter the country, then you probably need to take some kind of action...[/QUOTE]El Lobo Solo, good info, but. I am on a plane with 175 people on it and they pull out 3 African-American, they did not know my name, I was just exiting the plane. I am not a drug smuggler, I am a BMW (Black Man Working). If you are going to pull me out, pull everyone out and check them. The problem with this country is racism starts with the government and trickles down to all law enforcement agencies. We can move on, I have been going to D. R. 4 times a year for the last 12 years, and I have a blast with all the women, so not even Customs agents can spoil my joy.

Thanks for your input.

[QUOTE=Coole Mr;1499631]El Lobo Sol We can move on, I have been going to D. R. 4 times a year for the last 12 years, and I have a blast with all the women, so not even Customs agents can spoil my joy.[/QUOTE]Very good outlook after catching shit from somebody who for sure does not know what your real intent of being in the DR was or they would have never fucked with you to start with.

[QUOTE=Grandnash84;1499283]Comming into miami one time last year from dr a cutoms dog came up to me and my friend and statered sniffing. The agent askerd if we were smoking weed on the trip, we said yeah and ge pointed us to get our bags checked. When we got there the agent already knew why we where getting checked and he asked if we were smoking weed. We both said yeah and another agent went to check my friends bags. I had two big luggages and a backpack. I opned my first luggae and the agent looked at it and said alright see you later. My friend who is right next to me getting checked gets fucked. He comes out of customs 20 min later and told me they went through all his shit, his shoes, everything and gave him the third degree. Pretty funny to me cause we weree standing about two feet apart getting checked right before I got let go LOL[/QUOTE]They could have made you miss your plane if they wanted to

[QUOTE=Charles Pooter;1450508]I ought to know the answer to that but I don't. My gf pays US$200 a yea but I have never been able to get any sense out of her as to what sort of visa it is. It satisfies the cops when they check her so she is happy. It doesn't seem to say anything about "work" or "study' so maybe it is just a "temporary residence" visa, although it doesn't say that either.This is a very sensitive area for Haitians as they feel very vulnerable. Also they are told all sorts of BS by Haitian and Dominican officials, the laws and interpretations are constantly changing, and most of them have limited literacy for official jargon in minute print, so everyone is confused all the time and reluctant to discuss it[/QUOTE]These people change the rules day by day and it really sucks. I hope your GF has already got her visa for this year because things are not good and she may have to stay longer than she did before. I would for sure send extra money with her this time for un for seen cost. I now know why the boyfriends of the Haitian women usually let them go alone to get there stamp in Cap-Haitian for it is un like anything most of us on any of these boards has ever had to deal with. Being in Cap-Haitian does make you appreciate how advanced the DR is

Funny story for you guys, since we just had a discussion about chicas and phones. I'm going to be on the ground in the DR in about a week, and I opened an account on Dominican Cupid to grab a few phone numbers. I know you really don't have to prep like this for Sosua, but I wanted to try it. Seemed like a fun way to get worked up for my trip. And it has been.

Anyway, one girl who I first emailed last evening, telling her I'd like to meet her, sent me this email today:

"gracias hola puedes venir con regalo por mi yo quiero un teléfono galaxy why un tableta por favor mi numero es."

For those of us linguistically challenged, here's the google translation:

"hello thank you gift can come with me I want a galaxy phone and tablet please my number is."

Haha. I exchanged a total of 6 emails with her and she's already trying to hustle a phone and tablet. That is awesome. Needless to say, she's not on my "to do" list. I have had some luck with other girls, though. I'm up front that I'm not looking for anything serious, just a little short time romance and many girls have responded favorably. I'll probably call one or two of them when I'm in town.

[QUOTE=Puntz79; 1499247]Being questioned for going to a country to have sex with girls? This is what our tax dollars are being wasted on? Man some people (TSA) must be incredibly bored these days.

No one knows the real reason why anyone is going anywhere. Doesn't matter if it's DR, France, England, Turkey, India, Thailand, Australia etc. It's ridiculous if people are being profiled because they like to visit a certain country. The DR has beaches, is fairly cheap to travel to and enjoy a weekend vacation on, there's a lot to do. It's a developing country and some companies have business over there. A single man that travels to Puerto Plata or Santo Domingo could be traveling just for business a couple times a month. There is nothing wrong with this.

Sometimes I don't know if these stories are believable, I guess it serves for a good read at least. Safe mongering everyone.[/QUOTE]I usually fly out of Vegas and I've noticed recently all the drama associated with TSA and Border patrol. I have had my cameras looked through and questioned how much I pay the girls. Why would america care if we are going elsewhere for women? Miami airport has always been notorious though. It's the entry point for most coming from latin countries. Ask I screamed a foolish agent. If you search my bags and I walk thorugh the metal dector, the body scanning machine, have my hands swabbed for explosive chemicals. Shit is getting old.

[QUOTE=Boriman; 1499285]If it makes you feel any better, champ, I've had a problem or two with the Miami Airport. Several years ago, while transferring to a connecting flight to DR, I was waiting for my luggage to be searched and moved to the wrong table (I do not know how it is now but back then Miami needed to work on having clearly displayed signs). Well, some supervisor approached me and he was probably the nastiest airport employee I've ever encountered. The guy was so busy focusing on being nasty that at the very end he didn't bother to check my luggage. It is fortunate that I did not argue with him since my friend copied on DVD a sex tape of a well known Spanish news reporter, which I had in the luggage. I also had cigar rings and two boxes, indicating Cohiba on them. (I did not have the cigars since my friend took them to PR. When I got home I just mailed the rings and boxes to him so he could put the pieces together. Since Cohibas are illegal in the States my friend needed a way to beat the system).

After this, when I later submitted my luggage to be placed on the conveyor belt, workers were giving me wrong instructions, and some even refused to talk to me when I tried to get their attention to pull my luggage the belt so I could remove the shoulder strap (if I didn't do this the package handlers would have taken the strap off and discarded it [these straps sometimes tie up and jam the conveyor belt]).

When I finally returned from my trip and did some research, at the time in question Miami Airport was the worst airport in this country, based on customer complaints.[/QUOTE]Even my mother hates going through Miami for an internatinal flight.

Amazing detail about customs and TSA agent.

As someone that is racially profiled imo many of these posts are overreactions by overly sensitive monger.

Comply and do not have illegal items. Simple. Defiance only creates unnecessary problems. These situations while unavoidable are easily managed.