Colombia VP urges U.S to ratify trade agreement

The U.S. should ratify a free trade agreement with Colombia that was negotiated in 2007, but still awaits congressional approval, Colombian Vice President Angelino Garzon said Wednesday at a Newsmaker event at the National Press Club.

Garzon's statement came a day after President Barack Obama announced that he intends to continue pursuing pending trade negotiations with Colombia and Panama. Obama mentioned the Colombia free trade agreement in his State of the Union message Tuesday, but did not propose a deadline for congressional ratification.

During his Washington visit, Garzon also lobbied for the agreement with administration officials, including U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Congress, labor organizations and non-governmental organizations.

The vice president also said his government is cooperating with others in Latin America and the Caribbean in fighting organized crime. He mentioned Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Jamaica, among others.

Garzon said his government, which is strongly pro-American, is trying to find ways to "live in peace" with neighboring Venezuela, whose president, Hugo Chavez, is consistently and stridently anti-American.

-- Peter Hickman, [email protected]