After reading our recent reports, more than fifteen other Quebecers wanted to testify to the Newspaper of their horror stories involving alcohol and possibly drugs that occurred in the Dominican Republic.
• Read also: A widow who believed her husband was an isolated case says she was stunned by the number of testimonies
• Read also: What happened to this young Quebecer who died while on vacation in the Dominican Republic?
“I was delirious. I said the army was coming to get me. I fell asleep in the pool. They had to resuscitate me. I drank small bottles of alcohol from the fridge in my room. Tests showed there was methamphetamine in my blood. I don’t take drugs. It took me a year to get over it. I had let that slide. But there, seeing everything that happened…”
Stéphane Lemarbre, during his trip in 2018
Courtesy Stéphane Lemarbre
– Stéphane Lemarbre, 58 years old, from Sainte-Julienne, Bahia Principe Bouganville, June 2018
“It was a traumatic event. We had a last drink on the beach before returning to the room. On our way, it hit us all at once. We lost the map. I got caught in the pool during a foam party, with a shoulder brace. In our room, we got completely naked, and we called room service. My partner started to become delirious. He was paranoia. He said that he had to call his brother, because there was a plot against us, that people were angry with us and that we had to leave. On our return, when we told our story to a hotel manager, he denied everything, saying it was impossible. There was no listening. We haven’t returned to the Republic since. We won’t go back there again.”
Solange Charpentier and her partner, Thierry Lamoureux
Courtesy of Solange Charpentie
– Solange Charpentier, 52 years old, and Thierry Lamoureux, 50 years old, from Candiac, Ocean El Faro, Punta Cana, March 2020
“We went to dinner with a couple of friends. A waiter insisted on giving us Mama Juana shots. We all took it in different doses. My partner and my friend became very aggressive. It was instantaneous. I no longer recognized them. The next day, it was a blackout for them. It struck me because a lady on the beach told me that her husband had reacted the same way after drinking that drink.”
Annie Bélanger
Courtesy Annie Bélanger
– Annie Bélanger, 45 years old, from Beauharnois, Bahia Principe Ambar, November 2017
“We went on an excursion and my partner loves pure rum. He drank it. As soon as we returned to Quebec, he suffered a major psychosis, but the first symptoms had already been present for a few days. He was anxious, paranoid. On the beach, we were offered an astronomical quantity of drugs. A dealer told us that organized crime pays hotels and the police to be able to sell on the beaches.
- Listen to the interview with Éric Boissonneault, vice-president of the Association of Travel Agents of Quebec, via QUB :
Julie Williams and her partner, Yannick Tetreault
Courtesy of Julie Williams
– Julie Williams, 42, from Longueuil, Jewel Palm Beach, Punta Cana, February 2024
“I had to leave the restaurant quickly one evening. I thought maybe I drank too much. I felt something was wrong. I walked with a severe zigzag. I felt drugged. This confirms that it was indeed real and that something is wrong.”
Annie Daigneault
Courtesy Annie Daigneault
– Annie Daigneault, from Laval, Bahia Principe Ambar, January 2024
“I got up on the bed and screamed that a woman was chasing me. My boyfriend put me back to bed and that went well, but I forgot part of the trip. Since then, I have had other nocturnal episodes as if I had to run away and launch myself out of bed for about a year. It’s very strange that it has the same effect in the head.”
– Myriam Hardy, 37 years old, from Quebec, Bahia Principe Ambar, summer 2012
“We experienced a similar situation with a more positive outcome, fortunately. My partner lost his mind, too. Memory loss, erratic speech, but physically he was number one. I thought he might have been drugged, because I no longer recognized him. I had a panic attack because his condition worried me so much. He was completely indifferent, as if disconnected from reality. “It’s inconceivable coming from a hotel chain of this magnitude.”
– Jessica Leduc, Bahia Principe Punta Cana, January 2024
“In October 2023, my girlfriend and I were in the same Sports bar where William Gareau drank the day before his death. We saw a very calm man start shouting and making threats. He was talking about guns. He scared us. The guy wasn’t in normal condition, but the staff let him go like it was usual. Tourists feel safe and let their guard down in the resorts. Here is the problem.”
– Frederico Vega, 60 years old, Bahia Principe Ambar, October 2023
“It touches me deeply. I lost 30 pounds after being on a drug. I was a zombie. I had dark thoughts and psychotic effects, things I had never experienced. I suspected bacteria. It was quite an ordeal. I’m a suspicious guy by nature. I’m definitely not going back there. It’s going to be Florida.”
– 42-year-old man from Quebec, Bahia Principe Ambar, November 2022
“I fell unconscious in a pool bar. Then I was very intense. I was screaming my life out in the hallways that I had been drugged. I had become paranoid. For a long time, I wondered what had happened to me. But there, I tell myself that it’s clear that that’s it.”
– 21-year-old student from Quebec, Bahia Principe Ambar, June 2022
“I was alone on the beach when I went to get a non-alcoholic drink. I didn’t take my eyes off him, but about fifteen minutes later, I felt bad. I blacked out and vomited. I was taken by ambulance, but they never wanted to drug test me. They made us pay $4,000 because they said our two insurance plans didn’t work. It was lucky that my boyfriend was there to take care of me, because I forgot everything.”
– 21-year-old student from Longueuil, Grand Bahia Principe, Punta Cana, December 2023