LatinNews Daily Report - 24 May 2012

Colombia: Mark Sullivan, the director of the US Secret Service, appeared before Congress’s Homeland Security Committee on 23 May and apologised for the prostitution scandal involving several members of President Barack Obama’s security detail ahead of the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in mid April. Sullivan said their behaviour was “not representative” of the rest of the force. "I am deeply disappointed and I apologize for the misconduct of these employees and the distraction that it has caused. Over the past several weeks, we have been under intense scrutiny as a result of this incident. To see the agency's integrity called into question has not been easy", he stated. Committee members were told of other alleged incidents of misconduct, including several that took place in the US: one involving minors and another involving an undercover police officer posing as a sex worker. Following the hearing, several members of the committee expressed doubts that the Colombia scandal was an isolated event and Senator Joe Lieberman (Independent Democratic – CT) said that over the past five years, members of the service have been involved in 64 disciplinary complaints.

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