Ahead of the recent NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Brussels, the Belgian police arrested a bodyguard of US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio. According to reports from the Washington Examiner, the embarrassing incident occurred on March 31, three days before the event, to which not only NATO representatives but also diplomats from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Ukraine were invited. The Overseas Security Command checked into the Amigo hotel to prepare for Rubio’s arrival.
However, a shift supervisor of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) got into a dispute with the hotel staff. A nameless agent insisted on entering the hotel bar, which was closed at that time. When the employees firmly refused to open the bar outside of its operating hours, the bodyguard became angry. The employees, including the hotel’s night manager, tried to calm the man down and persuade him to return to his room. Nevertheless, Rubio’s bodyguard turned violent, prompting the Belgian police to intervene. As the US citizen also engaged in a physical altercation with the police officers, he was arrested. After an intervention by the US Embassy, the bodyguard was released from police custody on the same day.
Sources informed the US newspaper that the DSS is under extreme pressure. The shift supervisors in particular are pushed to their limits, as they are responsible for all their subordinates, staffing planning and an “absurdly high administrative burden.”
A spokesperson for the US Department of State told the magazine that they were aware of the incident on March 31 in Brussels. They are investigating the allegations. However, the US Department of State would not comment on any specific details. The Belgian Embassy in Washington, the Belgian police and the Amigo hotel all declined to comment on the situation.