diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4cc95e4fd..cf62f1129 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 BUG FIXES:
 
 * builder/all: timeout waiting for SSH connection is a failure. [GH-491]
+* builder/digitalocean: don't panic if erroneous API response doesn't
+  contain error message. [GH-492]
 * builder/virtualbox: error if VirtualBox version cant be detected. [GH-488]
 * builder/virtualbox: detect if vboxdrv isn't properly setup. [GH-488]
 
diff --git a/builder/digitalocean/api.go b/builder/digitalocean/api.go
index 7e09595cc..b22c1bb4d 100644
--- a/builder/digitalocean/api.go
+++ b/builder/digitalocean/api.go
@@ -227,7 +227,13 @@ func NewRequest(d DigitalOceanClient, path string, params url.Values) (map[strin
 		}
 
 		if status == "ERROR" {
-			status = decodedResponse["message"].(string)
+			statusRaw, ok := decodedResponse["message"]
+			if ok {
+				status = statusRaw.(string)
+			} else {
+				status = fmt.Sprintf(
+					"Unknown error. Full response body: %s", body)
+			}
 		}
 
 		lastErr = errors.New(fmt.Sprintf("Received error from DigitalOcean (%d): %s",