President Barack Obama called Sunday for a `` thorough '' and `` rigorous '' investigation into allegations involving prostitutes and Secret Service agents in Colombia . Some 11 Secret Service agents and officers are being investigated over preliminary findings that they allegedly brought back several prostitutes to a hotel in Cartagena , U.S. government sources familiar with the investigation have told CNN . `` What happened here in Colombia is being investigated by the director of the Secret Service , '' said Obama , who spoke in Cartagena , where he was in town for the Summit of the Americas event . U.S. Secret Service agents sent home from Colombia . `` I expect that investigation to be thorough and I expect it to be rigorous . If it turns out that some of the allegations that have been made in the press are confirmed , then of course I 'll be angry , '' he said . The alleged misconduct occurred before Obama arrived in Cartagena . The Secret Service personnel have since been sent back to the United States and put on administrative leave , the agency said . The U.S. military said that five U.S. troops who were working with the Secret Service are also under investigation for missing curfew and alleged `` misconduct '' at the same Colombian hotel . `` We 're representing the people of the United States and when we travel to another county I expect us to observe the highest standards , '' said Obama . `` Obviously what 's been reported does n't match up with those standards . '' Leaders debate Cuba , drug war at summit . Still , he cautioned : `` I 'll wait until the full investigation is completed until I pass final judgment . '' None of the agents or officers being investigated was part of the president 's personal protective detail and Obama was not based at the Hotel Caribe , where the alleged misconduct occurred . But dignitaries and journalists reporting on the hemispheric meeting were staying there , a U.S. government official said . Rep. Peter King , chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee , was briefed on the matter and told CNN on Saturday that the government personnel brought prostitutes back to their rooms Wednesday night and `` one of the women did not leave the room in the morning . '' A hotel manager tried to get in the room , and eventually the woman emerged and said `` they owed her money , '' according to King . Similarly , U.S. government sources said there was a dispute between at least one Secret Service member and a woman brought back to his hotel over a request to be paid . At least one of the women brought to the hotel talked with police , and complaints were filed with the U.S. Embassy , the sources said . `` The Secret Service saw that report , and they immediately began an investigation , '' King said . Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovon said that the agents were relieved of duty Thursday -- prior to the president 's arrival in Colombia -- and replaced after `` allegations of misconduct . '' The agency 's assistant director , Paul Morrissey , noted his agency 's `` zero tolerance policy on personal misconduct . '' `` This incident is not reflective of the behavior of our personnel as they travel every day throughout the country and the world performing their duties in a dedicated , professional manner , '' Morrissey said Saturday . `` We regret any distraction from the Summit of the Americas this situation has caused . '' The U.S. military is conducting its own investigation and will mete out `` punishment , if appropriate ... in accordance with established policies and the Uniform Code of Military Justice , '' U.S. Southern Command said in a statement Saturday . Ronald Kessler , a former Washington Post reporter who has written a book about the Secret Service , called the incident `` clearly the biggest scandal in Secret Service history . '' The Washington Post , which was the first to report the story , said it was alerted to the investigation by Kessler . Jon Adler -- president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association , which represents Secret Service agents and other federal law enforcement officers -- urged caution in jumping to conclusions , characterizing the incident as `` isolated '' and not necessarily a scandal . `` That 's just sort of an overdramatic interpretation of an isolated incident , '' he said . `` We have to trust the process of the internal review . '' While soliciting prostitution is legal in certain areas of Colombia , it is considered a breach of the agency 's conduct code , the government sources said . High-level officials in the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security were outraged over the incident , the sources said , noting that the investigation indicated the prostitutes were brought back to a hotel that had been secured for the summit .
Obama : `` I 'll wait until the full investigation is completed until I pass final judgment '' 11 Secret Service members were interviewed and put on leave , the agency says . The incident occurred shortly before Obama arrived for the Summit of the Americas .