WASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) – The security detail
accompanying U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to Colombia
next week is expected to be on best behavior following the
prostitution scandal that overshadowed President Barack Obama’s
recent visit there.
Obama’s participation in last weekend’s Summit of the
Americas in Colombia’s seaside city of Cartagena was tainted by
the news of a night of partying, allegedly involving
prostitutes, by Secret Service agents and U.S. military
personnel just before Obama arrived.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said Panetta’s security
detail, which usually is made up of U.S. military personnel, had
not been given a special briefing on rules of conduct abroad
before the trip, which also includes stops in Brazil and Chile.
“I don’t think anyone needs to be told that they need to
conduct themselves in the manner that they should,” Little told
reporters.
“We expect the highest standards of the U.S. military.
That’s certainly what the secretary is looking for, for the
entire delegation,” he said.
Eleven Secret Service agents and 10 U.S. military personnel
allegedly took as many as 21 women back to their hotel before
Obama arrived in Cartegena last week.
Little said a military investigation into the incident –
which is taking place in parallel to a secret service probe –
was ongoing.
Hiring prostitutes, no matter the legal status where the act
takes place, is prohibited for U.S. military personnel. Those
convicted under the military justice system can be imprisoned
for up to a year and be discharged dishonorably.
Prostitution is legal in “tolerance zones” in Colombia.
Panetta’s Latin America trip comes as the U.S. military
seeks to deepen ties with the region even as fiscal pressures
constrain defense spending.
(Reporting By Missy Ryan; Editing by Vicki Allen)
