Despite new revelations about agents partying with prostitutes in Colombia, President Obama is dismissing the idea that the head of the Secret Service should step down.
Investigators may be set check out the Liqueros Club in Cartegena, Colombia to report on the activities of Secret service agents and military personnel that were assigned to President Barack Obama’s advanced security team. Investigators have begun searching for as many as 24 women, mostly prostitutes, who spent the night in hotel rooms that included paperwork with the full itinerary of President Obama.
Prostitution is legal in Colombia in “tolerance zones” and several brothels in Cartagena are in these zones.
On Monday, April 16, 2012, an Air Force colonel and a military lawyer arrived in Colombia to conduct an investigation on behalf of the Defense Department.
The accused enlisted personnel include two Marine dog handlers; at least one member of the Green Berets from the Seventh Special Forces Group, which focuses on South America; and Air Force and Navy personnel who specialize in the disposal of explosives. The number of military involved is somewhere between 10 and 12.
President arrived in Cartagena on Friday afternoon for the Summit of the Americas. Twelve official Obama body guards were sent home Thursday, April 12, 2012 following the discovery of the scandal. The secret service agents were staying at Cartagena’s Hotel Caribe, which is also hosting members of the White House staff and press corps during the summit.
A scandal involving prostitutes and Secret Service agents widened Saturday when the U.S. military confirmed five service members staying at the same hotel in Colombia may have been involved in misconduct as well.
Former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino calls the weekend scandal involving at least 11 Secret Service personnel and more than 5 military personnel a ‘disturbing’ and ’embarrassing’ story, one that damages the credibility of the agency.