Miami Herald, Fri, Apr. 18, 2008. By PABLO BACHELET

An irate Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos set aside diplomatic niceties and lashed out Friday at opponents of a U.S. free trade pact with Colombia, accusing them of distorting the country's record on violence.

Santos, saying he had to be ''respectful'' of the legislative branch of another country, avoided attacking Congressional Democratic leader who oppose the agreement. But he showed no restraint in attacking AFL-CIO head John Sweeney and the Americas director of Human Rights Watch, José Miguel Vivanco.

Both have lobbied hard for Congress to delay ratification of the free trade agreement. Opposition by the AFL-CIO is viewed as especially significant because organized labor provides money and volunteers to many Democratic candidates. Human Rights Watch is often critical of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's rights record.

Santos, who was on an investment promotion trip in New York and Washington, said Colombia felt like it was caught in a game of heads and tail, where ``if it's head they win and if it's tail we lose.''

He complained of a ``disinformation campaign by people who say lies, who manipulate information.''

Santos was angry at an April 14 Washington Post opinion piece by Sweeney titled ``Colombia: no rights, no trade.''

''It is frankly sad to see a person of such stature telling lies,'' he said, on occasion pacing nervously in the Colombian embassy hall where the interview took place.

Sweeney cited several statistics, including 400 union deaths since Uribe took office in 2003.

Sweeney wrote it was ''good'' that Colombia claimed to be ''taking steps'' to reduce the violence. ''But so far, it has done too little'' and had failed ``to bring its labor laws into compliance with international labor standards or enforce them effectively.''

He said no murder rate ''other than zero'' is acceptable.

''Yes, there are problems,'' Santos said, ``but look at the evolution.''

Uribe, a popular president, is credited with reducing overall violence in Colombia. Since February 2007, a special unit of the Prosecutor's office has begun more than 700 investigations, arrested 88 suspects and convicted 64 people, including 38 convictions for murders of union members.

Santos also complained that the AFL-CIO has refused to meet with Colombian labor activists who support the free trade agreement.

AFL-CIO policy director Thea Lee said Sweeney had not met with unions that support free trade but noted that in the past six months, staff members like herself did have three such meetings. She disputed allegations that the AFL-CIO exaggerated numbers and said Uribe government officials often link union members and rights activists with guerrilla members, leading to death threats and even murders.

Santos was also angry at a letter to the New York Times by Vivanco Friday. Vivanco, who once got in a yelling confrontation with Uribe, said ratification would ''vanish'' any pressure on Uribe to change his ways.

''This is a lie, a falsehood,'' said Santos.

Santos produced a 2003 campaign document with Uribe's pledge to protect all Colombians, including union members. Acting on Uribe's instructions, Santos toured the country to improve union safety much before ``the free trade agreement was even under consideration.''

Vivanco, in an email response, said the personal attacks by Santos were ``unfortunate.''

``The fact is that in all these years, the most promising step the Uribe administration has taken to address impunity for unionist killings -- through the establishment of a specialized group of prosecutors to investigate the killings -- has happened last year, while Uribe was under pressure over the FTA.''

Santos believes Sweeney is motivated by trade protectionism. ``Colombia is the weakest link in the chain.''

He said he understood Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's opposition to the Colombian deal as ''politics'' but said many Colombians were wondering ``about our country's dignity.''