Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Colombian President Alvaro Uribe pointed to arrests of drug traffickers as he sought to convince visiting U.S. lawmakers to approve a free-trade deal with Latin America's sixth-largest economy.

At the beginning of a closed-door meeting with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and American lawmakers today near Medellin, Uribe boasted of the capture of Diego Montoya, one of the country's biggest drug dealers, and pledged to extradite him to the U.S.

Many American legislators aren't convinced that Colombia has made enough progress in reducing the level of violence in the country, including killings of labor union leaders, said Representative Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat who supports the deal.

``Right now the Democratic caucus is dead set against it,'' Meeks said after the meeting with Uribe. ``There's still a lot of work to be done.''

Colombia reached a deal with the U.S. for a free-trade agreement in early 2006 and signed it a year ago. The U.S. then renegotiated it to toughen labor standards, and now Democratic lawmakers say that is not enough to get congressional approval.

Democrats took control of Congress in January amid growing apprehension among voters over stagnant salaries, the outsourcing of jobs and the growing trade deficit. Many of the party's newly elected lawmakers ran on a platform of opposition to Bush's trade agenda.

Killings Decline

Last year, 72 Colombian labor leaders were killed, according to the U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project, an independent group that examines data on Colombia for the AFL- CIO. While such killings have dropped by more than half since Uribe, 55, took office in 2002, there are still more union officials killed in Colombia than the rest of the world combined.

Uribe's government says the deal governing $16 billion in annual commerce between the two nations would bring a flood of foreign investment and provide farmers with a way to move out of illegal coca production.

In recent weeks, Uribe has sought to disarm Democratic critics. He has agreed to extradite a drug trafficker to the U.S. and has fired generals tied to political violence or drug trafficking.

``We've done a lot. When is that enough?'' Commerce Minister Luis Guillermo Plata said in an interview after the meeting today, pointing to a decline in kidnappings and murders since Uribe took office. ``The problem is that we keep getting the goalposts moved. This is frustrating in a sense.''

Medellin Mayor

Meeks and other lawmakers suggested that Uribe send the mayor of Medellin, Sergio Fajordo, to Washington to lobby for the accord, along with five labor leaders whom they met. Fajordo reduced violence in the city that was a symbol of 1990s lawlessness.

Gutierrez, 53, is traveling to Panama, Peru and Colombia with the bipartisan group of lawmakers as the administration increases pressure on Congress to approve accords with each of the countries. The Senate will soon begin considering the Peru accord, which faces less opposition.

The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates approval of the agreement would increase trade between the nations by 10 percent. Colombia's biggest exports to the U.S., its No. 1 market, include oil, coffee, fruit and clothing; the U.S. sends airplanes, automobiles, corn and factory equipment to Colombia.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 15, 2007 18:52 EDT