US soldiers punished over Colombia prostitution scandal

US: Ten US military personnel involved in the prostitution scandal that overshadowed President Barack Obama's trip to a regional summit in April in Colombia have been punished but not dismissed.

Seven Army soldiers and two Marines "received non-judicial punishments," military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel D.L. Wright said Wednesday, adding that a member of the Air Force had "received a lesser punishment, a reprimand." The role of two US Navy personnel implicated in the scandal was still under investigation.

The exact penance faced by the soldiers remains undisclosed but non-judicial punishments can include anything from confinement to quarters, to loss of pay or even demotion.

Nine Secret Service agents, part of Obama's security detail who went to the Colombian city of Cartagena in advance of the Summit of the Americas, have already been fired, resigned or retired because of the scandal. AFP