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I'm a native of the Dominican Republic - disclaimer
In my honest opinion, trying to be as unbiased as I can, I think the tourist deaths situation in the DR is being overblown. Why do I say that? Because its not unusual for 8-20 American tourists to die on any given year in the DR while doing tourism. That, however, doesn't mean Americans are being targeted or that it was due to crime in the first place. Many of these deaths occur for reasons other than crime - alcohol related, drowning, heart attacks, car accidents, etc. For some reason, all of the sudden this has blown up in the media as if this something unusual. It's not! You can go to the US travel site and see how many American deaths occur in the DR on a yearly basis (FYI: keep in mind some of these deaths in that website are actually Dominican-Americans who travel to the cities). Further investigation by the Dominican authorities in collaboration with the USA have concluded that the last few deaths that have popped up in the US media have been due to natural causes.
Is the Dominican Republic safe for tourist? Yes, it is. The statistics show that the Dominican all-inclusive resort industry is very safe for international travelers that visit us on a yearly basis. This is a fact! It is very rare for any crime to occur in a Dominican resort town areas. The local population also tends to cater to tourists, not try to hurt them. Outside the resort towns things can get a little more muddy. When you step out the resort towns you are obviously at increased risk, but there are definitely safe ways to tour the DR. I know many Americans that have rented cars and have done extensive road-trips across the country. If you do decide to tour the country, I would recommend either a guided tour or car rental. If you decide to do your own road-trip, at least please do your inter-city travel/driving during the day. Dominicans drive very aggressively and with little respect to the rules of the road. Highway infrastructure is world-class across the country, yet we have region-leading traffic fatality rates due to lack of civility on the road. The government has done a great job improving our infrastructure but people need more education.
Santo Domingo is also becoming a nice cultural experience (first euro colonial city in the western hemisphere) with its entire colonial district recently renovated. Hotels cropping up all over the city and like I said before - world class highway linking Punta Cana to Santo Domingo in under 3 hours. Santiago de los Caballeros is amazing city all around in the north side of the country. Jarabacoa/Constanza offer eco-touristic experiences like no other. This past January I hiked the Duarte Peak, highest in the caribbean, it was great!
The last three road-trips (each two week long) I have made across the DR have been wonderful experiences with my wife (UConn grad, also native of DR). But never do I dare to do any highway driving at night, not worth the risk. I've gone as far as the Haitian border. Its been good all around. Obviously, its easier when you know Spanish and your a native of the country
Is the Dominican Republic a safe country for its native residents? By North-American/European standards, no freaking way! There is a lot of theft, stick-ups, and all sorts of crime affecting the native Dominican population on a daily basis. Something you are just not used to seeing in the USA. By Latin American standards, however, it remains one of the safer countries. The homicide rate is surprisingly low for Latin American standards.
The rapid economic growth over the last 25 years combined with extreme economic inequality have made matters worst for the safety of the average Dominican. There is no way to hide it. Crime (not homicides) is one of the top concerns for Dominicans living back at home. Its the topic of discussion every time I visit. Especially in the poorer barrios/ghettos of the cities.
Regarding David Ortiz:
I saw the official announcement yesterday in regards to the details of the crime. It was extensive, a lot of video evidence of the planning before and during the hit. They concluded that David Ortiz was not the target. Boy, for me it's really hard to believe that. Most Dominicans are in doubt also. Apparently the real target was a friend of Ortiz sitting on the same table, who was involved with drug-dealing. It's just hard to believe that they would mix-up Ortiz (a black and fairly oversized man) for a light-skinned slim Dominican drug-dealer sitting next to him.
Many of us believe that Ortiz was the intended target - rumors out there saying Ortiz was messing with the wrong woman (a woman "belonging" to a drug dealer) and they set out to kill him. We also think that perhaps they are covering him up so that his Hall of Fame candidacy is not put a risk. I guess we will never know. These controversial cases always leave us with a sense of doubt, especially in the DR where we don't exactly have the best justice system to say the least!
In my honest opinion, trying to be as unbiased as I can, I think the tourist deaths situation in the DR is being overblown. Why do I say that? Because its not unusual for 8-20 American tourists to die on any given year in the DR while doing tourism. That, however, doesn't mean Americans are being targeted or that it was due to crime in the first place. Many of these deaths occur for reasons other than crime - alcohol related, drowning, heart attacks, car accidents, etc. For some reason, all of the sudden this has blown up in the media as if this something unusual. It's not! You can go to the US travel site and see how many American deaths occur in the DR on a yearly basis (FYI: keep in mind some of these deaths in that website are actually Dominican-Americans who travel to the cities). Further investigation by the Dominican authorities in collaboration with the USA have concluded that the last few deaths that have popped up in the US media have been due to natural causes.
Is the Dominican Republic safe for tourist? Yes, it is. The statistics show that the Dominican all-inclusive resort industry is very safe for international travelers that visit us on a yearly basis. This is a fact! It is very rare for any crime to occur in a Dominican resort town areas. The local population also tends to cater to tourists, not try to hurt them. Outside the resort towns things can get a little more muddy. When you step out the resort towns you are obviously at increased risk, but there are definitely safe ways to tour the DR. I know many Americans that have rented cars and have done extensive road-trips across the country. If you do decide to tour the country, I would recommend either a guided tour or car rental. If you decide to do your own road-trip, at least please do your inter-city travel/driving during the day. Dominicans drive very aggressively and with little respect to the rules of the road. Highway infrastructure is world-class across the country, yet we have region-leading traffic fatality rates due to lack of civility on the road. The government has done a great job improving our infrastructure but people need more education.
Santo Domingo is also becoming a nice cultural experience (first euro colonial city in the western hemisphere) with its entire colonial district recently renovated. Hotels cropping up all over the city and like I said before - world class highway linking Punta Cana to Santo Domingo in under 3 hours. Santiago de los Caballeros is amazing city all around in the north side of the country. Jarabacoa/Constanza offer eco-touristic experiences like no other. This past January I hiked the Duarte Peak, highest in the caribbean, it was great!
The last three road-trips (each two week long) I have made across the DR have been wonderful experiences with my wife (UConn grad, also native of DR). But never do I dare to do any highway driving at night, not worth the risk. I've gone as far as the Haitian border. Its been good all around. Obviously, its easier when you know Spanish and your a native of the country
Is the Dominican Republic a safe country for its native residents? By North-American/European standards, no freaking way! There is a lot of theft, stick-ups, and all sorts of crime affecting the native Dominican population on a daily basis. Something you are just not used to seeing in the USA. By Latin American standards, however, it remains one of the safer countries. The homicide rate is surprisingly low for Latin American standards.
The rapid economic growth over the last 25 years combined with extreme economic inequality have made matters worst for the safety of the average Dominican. There is no way to hide it. Crime (not homicides) is one of the top concerns for Dominicans living back at home. Its the topic of discussion every time I visit. Especially in the poorer barrios/ghettos of the cities.
Regarding David Ortiz:
I saw the official announcement yesterday in regards to the details of the crime. It was extensive, a lot of video evidence of the planning before and during the hit. They concluded that David Ortiz was not the target. Boy, for me it's really hard to believe that. Most Dominicans are in doubt also. Apparently the real target was a friend of Ortiz sitting on the same table, who was involved with drug-dealing. It's just hard to believe that they would mix-up Ortiz (a black and fairly oversized man) for a light-skinned slim Dominican drug-dealer sitting next to him.
Many of us believe that Ortiz was the intended target - rumors out there saying Ortiz was messing with the wrong woman (a woman "belonging" to a drug dealer) and they set out to kill him. We also think that perhaps they are covering him up so that his Hall of Fame candidacy is not put a risk. I guess we will never know. These controversial cases always leave us with a sense of doubt, especially in the DR where we don't exactly have the best justice system to say the least!
