He did that in order to accomplish his second role, as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, an international communications and lobbying firm. According to fillings to the Justice Department, the company has signed a contract with the South American nation to promote congressional approval of the trade deal, The WSJ reports.

After the meeting he publicly expressed his regrets, apologizing, attitude which offended the Colombian government and determined it to fire him. The news were released Saturday morning after the WSJ reported that Mr. Penn had met with Colombia's ambassador to the U.S on Monday.

At the same time, the Colombian government was offended by a statement made by Mr. Penn after the meeting. He said it was “an error in judgement.”

“The Colombian government considers this a lack of respect to Colombians, and finds this response unacceptable,” the embassy said in a statement, quoted by the WSJ.

It looks like trying to work on both fronts took Mr. Penn in the wrong direction. On the one hand he wanted to represent Sen. Clinton interests in the political campaign. On the other hand, although he knew New York's Sen. Clinton's criticism of free trade was an important issue in her campaign, he also wanted to represent Colombia in the trade matter. As a result, someone else took the decision for him and made him choose between the two jobs.