New York congressman calls for ATF to investigate American tourist deaths in Dominican Republic

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Now that it’s been confirmed that about a dozen American tourists have died under suspicious causes while vacationing in the Dominican Republic, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling for a probe from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

According to the Associated Press on Sunday, the Senate’s top Democrat said he believed it was time that the U.S. government step up efforts to investigate the deaths.

READ MORE: The real deal about the Dominican Republic deaths: 3 Important things you need to know

Some have speculated that the fatalities were instigated by alcohol drinks at resorts that were in someway tampered with, which is why Schumer says the ATF would be the best equipped to aid the FBI and local law enforcement officials in getting to the bottom of the situation. He also noted that the agency already has offices in the Caribbean along with the technical and forensic expertise needed for the investigation.

“Given that we still have a whole lot of questions and very few answers into just what, if anything, is cause for the recent spate of sicknesses and several deaths of Americans in the Dominican Republic, the feds should double their efforts on helping get to the bottom of things,” Schumer said in a statement.

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ATF spokeswoman April Langwell said that while the Treasury Department primarily handles investigations involving potentially tainted alcohol, the ATF would be happy to work with other agencies to keep Americans safe.

In an interview with CNN, Dominican Republic’s tourism minister, Francisco Javier Garcia, said the recent wave of deaths in the country are isolated incidents.

“Investigation into them is a top priority for us and for the National Police. We are asking them to deploy all resources to help provide answers as quickly as possible,” he opined.

READ MORE: Mother of NYC teacher who died in Dominican Republic says officials ‘lying’ about cause of death

According to The New York Post, Dominican Republic officials have downplayed the deaths as coincidences, dismissing the public outcry as, “fake news.”

“It’s all a hysteria against the Dominican Republic, to hurt our tourism, this is a very competitive industry and we get millions of tourists, we are a popular destination,” Carlos Suero, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Public Health spokesman told Fox News in an interview.“People are taking aim at us.”