In response to an uptick in violent crime and sexual assaults, the State Department has issued a travel warning for Americans planning to travel to the Dominican Republic.
On Tuesday, a yellow flag-level two advisory was released urging visitors to “exercise increased caution” while traveling to the popular Caribbean destination.
“Violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide, and sexual assault, is a concern throughout the Dominican Republic,” the department said in its advisory. “The wide availability of weapons, the use and trade of illicit drugs, and a weak criminal justice system contribute to the high level of criminality on the broader scale.”
According to the State Department, Americans who visit resorts are probably safer since they “tend to be better policed than urban areas like Santo Domingo.”
Top attractions for Americans visiting the eastern side of the island of Hispaniola are now safer thanks to installing a 911 emergency call system in several areas of the nation and a tourist police force.
Haiti, which the Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with, has recently experienced some of the most hazardous and challenging living circumstances in the Western Hemisphere.
Following the assassination of President Jovenel Mose in 2021, gang violence in Haiti has significantly increased as poverty and corruption have gone unrestrained.
However, the Dominican Republic carries the same threat level warning as other popular tourist destinations like France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K., and the Bahamas, despite the State Department’s stern Level 4 red-flag “Do not travel” advisory for Haiti.
Department authorities have cautioned Americans who decide to travel to the most popular Caribbean resort in the upcoming months to avoid wearing pricey jewelry or timepieces.
The department also advised heeding regional safety regulations and not putting up a physical fight against any robberies.
