The agents sent home from Amsterdam were placed on administrative leave, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the disciplinary action. The newspaper said all three were on the Counter Assault Team, which defends the president if he comes under attack, and that one agent was a "team leader preamp."

One agent was discovered highly intoxicated by staff at a hotel, who reported it to the US Embassy, said a person familiar with the situation, who wasn't authorised to discuss the alleged behaviour on the record and demanded anonymity. The other two agents were deemed complicit because they didn't intervene despite being in a position to assist the drunken agent or tamp down his behavior, the person said.

"It wasn't like a big, crazy party," the person said.

Mr Obama arrived in the Netherlands early Monday on the first leg of a weeklong, four-country trip. He departed for Brussels on Tuesday night, and there were no known security issues during his stay in the Netherlands 牙醫.