The first Dominican-American to serve in Congress says there’s no reason to fear visiting the Dominican Republic, but he’s planning to visit the Caribbean nation next month to get answers following the deaths of nine American tourists this year.
“First of all, I’m concerned about the deaths,” Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a Democrat from New York, tells TIME. “I will look into them and I’m sure the U.S. authorities, including the FBI and the Dominican authorities, are looking into the causes of them. I will fight for that to happen, for them to get to the bottom of it.”
Espaillat made the announcement on Wednesday, saying he plans to speak to tourism and government officials to learn the latest details on the headline-making deaths––many of which came after travelers reportedly fell suddenly ill.
***Breaking News*** As the first and only Dominican-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, I will be traveling to the #DominicanRepublic on July 1st and will sit down with touris..