From our editorial today on the Colombia free-trade agreement:
As it stands, Colombia is our closest ally in Latin America. President Uribe’s embrace of free markets stands in stark contrast to the socialist authoritarianism Hugo Chavez is trying to spread throughout the region. We should be rewarding such an ally, not punishing him. If congressional Democrats vote to kill the U.S.-Colombia Free-Trade Agreement, they will be weakening both the U.S. economy and Uribe — while doing Chavez a huge favor in the process.
Or, as Bill Bennett puts it: Colombia is the Israel of Latin America.