About 3 million Americans vacation in the Dominican Republic every year, but by June 2019, nine had died and at least four of those reportedly died after drinking or eating from hotel minibars.
The circumstances were mysterious enough to make headlines.
The State Department's database of non-natural deaths of Americans by country shows the number of American deaths in 2019 is not high. From 2008 to 2018, the greatest number of non-natural deaths in the Dominican Republic was 32 deaths in 2015. The lowest numbers were 2012 and 2018, when 13 tourists died non-natural deaths.
However, according to the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), most non-natural deaths during the 10-year span were from car accidents, drowning, murders, or suicides — none associated with minibars.
Currently, investigators are considering whether the deaths occurred because of something systemic (a chemical or pesticide poisoning,for example) or criminal.
Taking just statistics from 2017, ACSH found that the highest rate of non-natural deaths in tourist destinations occurred in Mexico at 7.1 per million. The lowest was Canada at .77 per million. The Dominican Republic was 6.12.
