What kind of ally will we lose if we don't sign the FTA with Colombia?

About a week and a half ago I was in San Antonio to speak at a forum on trade organized by 32 community organizations who see the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as a "trojan horse" for both Colombians and U.S. citizens. As it turns out Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos was also in San Antonio (at a forum organized by the Colombian government) to bolster his argument that the U.S. would lose an ally in Latin America if the FTA does not get ratified. To learn more about his arguments you can read this article from the San Antonio Express News Paper:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/nation/stories/MYSA092807.15A.ColombianVP.32875b9.html

What the article fails to delve into is the type of ally that the U.S. would be losing. Does the U.S. really want to ratify a trade agreement with a government in which at least 12 Congressional legislators are under investigation for their ties to paramilitary groups which are responsible for some of the worst human rights violations in the western hemisphere? Is it ok to trade with a country that is well known for being the worst place on earth to be a union leader--the country in which most union leaders are killed every year? And is it enough that less union leaders are being killed in Colombia this year? Should the trade agreement be ratified with this country based on the fact that less people are being killed? Isn't one life lost enough to at least make us question ratifying this treaty?

Do we really want to maintain ties to a government that is infiltrated by paramilitary groups which the U.S. government categorizes as terrorists?

Clearly, the one size fits all approach of this trade agreements is not applicable and especially not in such a violent and corrupt context.