Secret Service agents sent home after alleged "misconduct" in Colombia
- 12 years ago
In Cartagena, Colombia, a local policeman told Reuters - at least one Secret Service member tried to take a prositute to a hotel room.
The manager of the Hotel Caribe - where the incident is alleged to have occurred - declined to give details.
U.S. officials have not confirmed the policeman's account.
A statement issued by the Secret Service said 11 agents were put on administrative leave after allegations of "misconduct" ahead of President Barack Obama's trip to a Summit of the Americas in the coastal city.
None of the special agents were assigned to protect the president, the statement said.
White House spokesman Jay Carney.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY SAYING:
"The President has had...does have confidence in the Secret Service. And I think the service has said, and I would point you to those reports, that this incident had no impact on the president's security."
The U.S. Southern Command said on Saturday five members of the U.S. military assigned to support the Secret Service in Colombia violated curfew and may have been involved in "inappropriate conduct" at the same hotel in which the agents had stayed.
Obama arrived in Cartagena for the 33-nation summit on Friday and will stay until Sunday.
Katharine Jackson, Reuters.
The manager of the Hotel Caribe - where the incident is alleged to have occurred - declined to give details.
U.S. officials have not confirmed the policeman's account.
A statement issued by the Secret Service said 11 agents were put on administrative leave after allegations of "misconduct" ahead of President Barack Obama's trip to a Summit of the Americas in the coastal city.
None of the special agents were assigned to protect the president, the statement said.
White House spokesman Jay Carney.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY SAYING:
"The President has had...does have confidence in the Secret Service. And I think the service has said, and I would point you to those reports, that this incident had no impact on the president's security."
The U.S. Southern Command said on Saturday five members of the U.S. military assigned to support the Secret Service in Colombia violated curfew and may have been involved in "inappropriate conduct" at the same hotel in which the agents had stayed.
Obama arrived in Cartagena for the 33-nation summit on Friday and will stay until Sunday.
Katharine Jackson, Reuters.