(Photo: Illustration Purposes Only)

An African American man from the United States and his wife, a Costa Rican woman from Puerto Viejo, Limon were stopped today by the transit police because their “marchamo” (vehicle’s circulation permit, similar to the registration payment in the United States) was not visible.

Apparently the marchamo was indeed paid and up to date but the sticker was placed in an area of the windshield where it was not visible; according to the Costa Rican transit law the marchamo sticker has to be stuck to the windshield in a visible area, as a matter of fact even if you have paid the marchamo if you don’t have the sticker in a visible place the transit cops can still fine you; in addition to this it seems that the driver, as we mentioned a native of the United States, was carrying his US license but no passport which is also against the law in the country.

The argument between the couple and the traffic cops escalated since the couple argued they had paid the marchamo and everything was in order and the fact that the driver doesn’t carry his passport with him because of security reasons (Video included below). Despite this, the transit cops proceeded to give them the corresponding ticket and removed the car’s plates.

In the video you can hear the woman stating that the only reason they were stopped is because they are black,

“The only reason they are stopping us is because we are black, and look at them, they are happy taking our plates away, we are hardworking people from Puerto Viejo, Limon”.

The Costa Rican transit law states in Article 75.- “People with license to drive motor vehicles issued in a foreign country are authorized to drive the same type of vehicle in Costa Rica for a period of up to three months. The license must be valid and the driver has to carry it along with his/her passport. However, after the three months, they will be able to obtain the Costa Rican license by just showing their foreign license and the medical examination certification as it is established in this Law”.

The three months count as of the last entry stamp showing in the passport which is why drivers are required to carry their passport or a certified copy of the same (the complete document).

When the car’s plates are removed drivers must pay the fine, wait three days before going to Cosevi (Costa Rican Road Safety Council) to request the plates back and prepare for a long wait in line Cosevi gives out 200 tabs or spaces every day and in the past few months it is generally packed due to the high number of plates removed for parking in restricted areas and not having the marchamo.