Dominican Republic Official Says Country Is Safe

At least seven Americans have died this year in the Dominican Republic, and questions have been raised about whether travel is safe to the Caribbean vacation destination. But a Dominican Republic official spoke out at a press conference Friday to dispel concerns.

“The Dominican Republic is a safe country,” Francisco Javier Garcia, the minister of tourism in the Dominican Republic, told reporters.

“There is no such thing as mysterious deaths in the Dominican Republic,” Garcia said. ”There is not an avalanche of deaths.”

Garcia said the confirmed seven deaths of are not out of the ordinary and that the number is lower than in some previous years. Garcia said in both 2011 and 2015 through June, 15 tourists died in the Dominican Republic.

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