(Changes headline to clarify no legal charges filed)
WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) – Five members of the U.S.
military assigned to support the Secret Service during President
Barack Obama’s visit to Colombia violated curfew and may have
been involved in “inappropriate conduct,” the U.S. Southern
Command said on Saturday.
One day after the U.S. Secret Service said it had sent some
agents home from Cartagena for allegations of misconduct – which
Colombian police said involved prostitutes – the Southern
Command said it was punishing military members involved in
“inappropriate conduct” at the same hotel in which the agents
had stayed.
Unlike the Secret Service personnel, the military members
are still in Colombia but are confined to their quarters and not
allowed to have contact with anyone, the statement said. They
will return to the United States with the rest of the support
group after the Summit of the Americas.
General Douglas Fraser, commander of the Southern Command,
said he was “disappointed by the entire incident and (said) that
this behavior is not in keeping with the professional standards
expected of members of the United States military.”
Fraser said a thorough investigation and punishment if
appropriate will take place in accordance with the Uniform Code
of Military Justice.
A policeman in Cartagena said at least one member of the
Secret Service tried to take a prostitute up to a hotel room
without registering her.
The U.S. government said only that some Secret Service
agents were sent home but gave no details of the misconduct.
(Reporting by Deborah Charles and Caren Bohan; editing by Todd
Eastham)
