(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-05 11:40

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief strategist apologized Friday for meeting with Colombian officials pushing a free trade agreement that the presidential candidate opposes.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the strategist, Mark Penn, met Monday with Colombia's ambassador to the United States. Clinton advisers said Penn's meetings were not connected to the campaign, but part of his job as chief executive of the lobbying and public relations firm Burson-Marsteller Worldwide.

But a Clinton adviser said the candidate was not happy to learn about the meeting, and Penn issued a statement expressing regrets.

"The meeting was an error in judgment that will not be repeated and I am sorry for it," Penn said in a written statement. "The senator's well-known opposition to this trade deal is clear and was not discussed."

Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said the candidate has not discussed the Colombian deal with Penn.

"Senator Clinton's opposition to the Colombian Trade Deal is clear and she will be voting against it," Singer said.

The Colombian government is trying to secure congressional passage of the agreement signed in 2006 by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and the Bush administration.

According to Justice Department filings, Colombia agreed last year to pay Burson-Marsteller $300,000 (euro190,815) to help "educate members of the US Congress and other audiences" about the trade deal and secure continued US funding for the $5 billion (euro3.18 billion) anti-narcotics program Plan Colombia.

Clinton and her Democratic rival Barack Obama oppose the deal. Clinton told the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO this week that the United States needs new trade policies before it has new trade deals. "That includes no trade deal with Colombia while violence against trade unionists continues in that country," she said.

Penn's political consulting firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland, has been paid $10.8 million (euro6.9 million) so far by Clinton's campaign.

Penn has come under criticism for other Burson-Marsteller clients, including tobacco giant Philip Morris and corporate clients accused of union-busting activity. While Penn says he does not personally work on any accounts that could be construed as anti-labor, labor leaders have publicly expressed concern about his involvement with the campaign.

Union leaders backing Obama criticized Penn's involvement with the Colombians. Change to Win called for Penn's resignation and Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa issued a statement that said Clinton's opposition to the Colombian agreement had been undermined.

"How can we trust that a President Hillary Clinton would stand strong against this trade deal when her top adviser is being paid by Colombia to promote it?" Hoffa asked.