Playing games with Colombia

There's an interesting piece on NRO about the US Colombia Free Trade Agreement (Colombian Crossroads)

In it, a Republican congressman argues that in not holding a vote on the agreement, the Democrat controlled congress is failing not only their own constituents, but also Colombia, one of the USA's most reliable allies in a region where there are few.

There are many arguments in favour of free trade, but the Democrats in congress are not inclined to make them, prefering to pander to their hard left base and the fears of blue collar voters in the mid west.

Most Colombian goods already enter the USA relatively freely, so the cost to the US is relatively limited, in return for which they open up Colombian markets to their own goods and give political help to a friend. They can rest assured that if they fail to give President Uribe this boost, the thug in Caracas will use it to make mischief.