Dominican Republic leader asks tourists to ease up on the prostitutes

The Dominican Republic’s top prosecutor is urging the country’s tourism ministry to advise foreign travelers not to hire prostitutes because they could face punishment.

A statement Thursday from Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito says tourists should refrain from any behavior that supports places where prostitutes work.

The move is part of a broader campaign by the attorney general to combat human trafficking and sex crimes in the Dominican Republic. The United Nations Population Fund ranks the Caribbean country fourth worldwide in the number of women who are trafficked to other nations.

Prostitution itself is not illegal in the Dominican Republic. But it is illegal to make money off the sexual services of another person or to force someone to work as a prostitute.