Brussels police arrest US State Secretary Rubio's bodyguard, US 'examines' case
www.brusselstimes.com
The senior US security agent was taken into custody after reportedly arguing with staff at the Hotel Amigo and fighting with police.

Summary

A US Diplomatic Security Service agent in Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s advance security team was arrested in Brussels on March 31, 2025, after becoming aggressive when Hotel Amigo staff refused to extend bar hours.

The agent allegedly fought with responding police officers before being released following US Embassy intervention.

The State Department acknowledged the incident is “being examined” amid reports of Rubio’s security detail being stretched “to a near-breaking point.”

  • Optional@lemmy.world
    0·
    16 days ago

    Two sources with direct knowledge of the situation told the Washington Examiner that the agent in question was “behaving erratically” and “became irate” when hotel staff refused to reopen the bar beyond its normal hours, the US media reports.

    I mean - USSS has a reputation to uphold. Of being drunken, coke-snorting fuckups.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      16 days ago

      Not really.

      There was the Columbia brothel thing, but unless you’ve been to Cartegenia, you don’t understand how plausible it is to not realize you’re in a brothel for hours.

      It’s a blurry line when drunk and you definitely get steered to them by locals, even if you just ask for a place to drink, because they all serve cheap drinks so you use their other services.

      But like, it’s 100% legal. It’s not going into a seedy underbelly like people assume, it could be a bar on the main strip thousands of people walk by daily.

      • ultranaut@lemmy.world
        0·
        16 days ago

        USSS earned their reputation over many decades. That is not the only incident (and if I recall correctly, that incident was a lot more “involved” than your description).

          • ultranaut@lemmy.world
            0·
            16 days ago

            Ok. One of the first ones I remember reading about a few decades ago got a lot of news coverage at the time. In San Diego a bunch of drunk Secret Service agents started a bar fight and beat the shit out of a couple guys. One of the Secret Service agents bit a mans ear off during the fight.

      • deranger@sh.itjust.works
        0·
        16 days ago

        The secret service officers protecting Kennedy were up all night drinking grain alcohol the night before he was assassinated.