By Jane Sutton CORAL GABLES, Fla., Sept 20 (Reuters) - Rejecting a free trade deal with Colombia would punish an ally who has clung to democracy while making great strides against violence and drug trafficking, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said on Thursday. "Why not help them when they are strong? This isn't a time to punish an ally," Gutierrez said at a Latin American conference sponsored by The Miami Herald. "We think that would confuse our friends and make our enemies very happy. It would probably be one of the biggest foreign policy mistakes we could make in Latin America in our time." Gutierrez's remarks were aimed at U.S. Congressional Democrats who have opposed a free trade deal with Colombia because of concerns over anti-union violence and extrajudicial killings by illegal paramilitaries. The commerce secretary said Colombia had made dramatic strides by cutting violent crime by more than half between 2002 and 2006, and reducing kidnappings by 76 percent in that time. Colombian drug eradication and interdiction efforts took 500 tonnes of cocaine off the market last year, depriving terrorist groups of $850 million in funds to buy arms and mount attacks, Gutierrez said. Colombia has long defended its relationship with the United States amid heavy criticism, while remaining democratic under conditions that have prompted other Latin American nations to embrace dictatorships, he said. The country is Washington's strongest ally in a region where left-wing leaders such as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have gained ground. The commerce secretary, who promotes U.S. businesses at home and abroad, praised Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's government for producing "a great success story" and said Colombia has made progress. Gutierrez recently returned from visiting Colombia, Peru and Panama to shore up support for free trade pacts in the three Andean nations. He said the deals would benefit the United States by removing barriers to exports that are increasingly driving the U.S. economy.
