394 violent deaths in Dominican Republic in first four months of 2026
The Ministry of Interior recorded 394 violent deaths between January and April 2026, with a homicide rate of 7.34 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Dominican Republic records 394 violent deaths in first four months of 2026
The Dominican Republic registered 394 violent deaths between January and April 2026, according to the report presented by Faride Raful, Minister of Interior and Police, and reported by infobae.com.
Of that total, 117 deaths are attributed to incidents linked with crime, including eight members of the National Police. Another 93 cases correspond to deaths in confrontations between civilians and police officers. The remaining 184 occurred in situations related to quarrels, vendettas, feminicides and suicides of the aggressors.
The homicide rate accumulated through May stands at 7.34 per 100,000 inhabitants. Minister Raful noted that this figure reflects a progressive reduction compared to previous years: in May 2023 the rate was 12.7; in 2024 it fell to 10.05; and in 2025 it was 8.4 per 100,000 inhabitants. The sustained decline leads the authorities to assert that there is an annual downward trend, according to the EFE agency.
Raful described confrontations between officers and suspected criminals as a "complex issue". She explained that many police officers "are shot at during operations" and that organised crime shows increasing sophistication. Despite this, she emphasised that the National Police and the National Drug Control Directorate maintain their efforts to dismantle criminal structures.
The General Director of the National Police, Andrés Cruz, argued that "the institution maintains the commitment to preserve physical integrity and human rights". He warned, however, that "officers will not back down in the face of crime" and clarified that the primary objective is "to capture suspects and place them at the disposal of the Public Ministry", although he acknowledged that operations frequently result in confrontations due to the armed reaction of those being pursued.
Regarding gender-based violence, official figures record 32 feminicides in the first months of 2026. According to data from the Public Ministry, the Ministry for Women, the National Statistics Office and the Judiciary's Observatory of Justice and Gender, 54% of the aggressors remain under arrest. The majority of the crimes were committed by partners or former partners of the victims, leaving dozens of minors without their mothers.
Official agencies note that institutional responses have not yet sufficiently contained these episodes, and stress the need to strengthen prevention and protection policies for affected families.
Source: Google News DO — Crime