WASHINGTON — The House narrowly approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement early today, a personal triumph for President Bush, who campaigned aggressively for the accord he said would foster prosperity and democracy in the hemisphere.

The 217-215 vote just after midnight Eastern time adds six Latin American countries to the growing list of nations with free-trade agreements with the United States and averts what could have been a major political embarrassment for the Bush administration.

It was an uphill effort to win a majority, with Bush traveling to Capitol Hill earlier in the day to appeal to wavering Republicans to support a deal he said was critical to U.S. national security.

The vote, which was supposed to take 15 minutes, dragged on for an hour as negotiations swirled among GOP leaders and rank-and-file members reluctant to vote for the agreement. In the end, 27 Republicans voted against CAFTA, while 15 Democrats supported it.

The issue has been divisive for Washington state lawmakers as well. Even in a state where the biggest employers, Microsoft and Boeing, had expressed passionate support of CAFTA, more than half the House delegation opposed the pact.

Washington Republicans Doc Hastings, Cathy McMorris and Dave Reichert voted for the agreement, as did Democrat Norm Dicks. Democrats Brian Baird, Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, Jim McDermott and Adam Smith voted against it.

Lobbying continued right up to the vote, with Vice President Dick Cheney, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez tracking undecided lawmakers.

"CAFTA helps ensure that free trade is fair trade," Bush said in a statement. "By lowering trade barriers to American goods in Central American markets to a level now enjoyed by their goods in the U.S., this agreement will level the playing field and help American workers, farmers and small businesses."

The United States signed the accord with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic a year ago. The Senate approved it last month. It now goes to the president for his signature.

To capture a majority, supporters had to overcome what some have called free-trade fatigue, a growing sentiment that deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada have contributed to a loss of well-paying American jobs and the soaring trade deficit.

Democrats, who were overwhelmingly against CAFTA, also argued that its labor rights provisions were weak and would result in exploitation of workers in Central America.

But supporters pointed out that CAFTA would over time eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers that impede U.S. sales to the region, correcting the current situation in which 80 percent of Central American goods enter the United States duty-free but Americans must pay heavy tariffs.

The agreement would also strengthen intellectual-property protections and make it easier for Americans to invest in the region.

In the end, it was the national-security argument — that rejection of the deal would further impoverish the region, undermine their democracies and exacerbate the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States — that appeared to persuade some members.

The president, said White House press secretary Scott McClellan, stressed to Republicans "the importance of supporting young and emerging democracies in our own hemisphere, and the importance of strengthening democracy here in our own hemisphere."

Material from The Seattle Times archive is included in this report