An op-ed in today's New York Post looks at the facts behind the Colombian Free Trade Agreement and the liberal argument against passage.

John Sweeney, president of the largest US federation of unions, the AFL-CIO, detailed the allegations in a Washington Post op-ed April 14: "In Colombia, joining a union or advocating for workers' rights can be a de facto death sentence," he said. "The human-rights atrocities against union activists and supporters are not isolated, rogue events; they are committed largely by the armed forces and paramilitary organizations with ties to elected officials close to President [Alvaro] Uribe."

Sweeney also insisted "human-rights groups say extrajudicial murders of civilians by the Colombian armed forces on Uribe's watch are increasing" and "more than 400 Colombian unionists have been murdered during Uribe's tenure."

Not true. ...

In fact: "The Colombian government," notes Reuters, has "tripled spending on protection for unionists, human-rights activists and other at-risk individuals and established a special unit to prosecute crimes against trade unionists."

To make its case, the AFL-CIO cites data going back 22 years - but Uribe only took office in 2002.

So just how few deaths are required before Sweeney - and Democrats who hide behind "horrific violence" - would support the trade deal? "Zero," writes Sweeney. Of course, that's impossible: Any nation with both murders and unions will have murdered union members.

In short, the only killing that really matters to these critics is that of the Colombia free-trade pact.

Opposition to the Colombian FTA is not the only protectionist economic policy that the left is embracing this year.  Some liberal leaders have called for re-writting provisions of NAFTA - the trade agreement that has created millions of jobs for Americans while strengthening ties with our neighbors.  These promises may be effective on the campaign trail, but the reality is they will only serve to further damage an already fragile American economy.