A 31-year-old U.S. police officer has died after traveling to the Dominican Republic for cosmetic surgery, marking the second recent death involving an American law enforcement officer and raising fresh questions about the risks associated with medical tourism in the Caribbean.
Dominican authorities identified the woman as Rebeca De Paula, who traveled to Santo Domingo to undergo surgery to remove breast implants. The circumstances surrounding her death remain under investigation, and officials have not yet determined the cause.
National Police spokesman Diego Pesqueira said investigators and prosecutors are awaiting the results of an autopsy being conducted by the Dominican Republic's National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) before drawing conclusions.
"At the moment, the National Police, our investigators and the Public Prosecutor's Office are waiting for the autopsy and forensic examination being carried out by INACIF so we can continue the investigation and provide further details at the appropriate time," Pesqueira said.
He added that authorities have gathered preliminary information but will leave medical findings to forensic specialists.
"We are not medical experts, so we believe the medical aspects should be addressed by professionals in that field. We will wait for the autopsy and forensic results," he said.
Officials have not publicly identified the clinic where the procedure was performed or disclosed whether any healthcare providers are under investigation.
De Paula's death adds to growing concerns over medical tourism in Latin America, one of the world's most popular destinations for cosmetic procedures because of its lower costs.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 93 U.S. citizens died after undergoing cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic between 2009 and 2022.
The CDC found that deaths increased sharply after 2019, with fat embolism and pulmonary thromboembolism identified as the leading causes. Liposuction was involved in every fatal case reviewed, and many patients underwent multiple cosmetic procedures during the same operation.
The Dominican Republic has also experienced several high-profile cosmetic surgery deaths involving both local and foreign patients in recent years, prompting calls for tighter oversight of aesthetic clinics and stronger enforcement of medical regulations.
In De Paula's case, authorities have not indicated whether the surgery itself, an underlying medical condition or another complication caused her death. Those answers are expected to come from the INACIF autopsy, which investigators say will guide any potential criminal or administrative proceedings.
Until then, Dominican police say the investigation remains open.
The case is likely to draw attention on both sides of the Caribbean, particularly among Americans considering traveling abroad for elective cosmetic procedures, as officials work to determine exactly what happened in the operating room.
