Shaking hands with Venezuela President Hugo Chavez does not endanger the strategic interests of the United States, President Barack Obama has said in response to criticism from within his country about his handshake and conversations with the controversial Latin American leader in Port of Spain.

’I don’t think anybody can find any evidence that that would do so,’ Obama said yesterday.

He made the comment in response to questions posed on the issue during a news conference on a balcony at the Hilton Trinidad hotel in St Ann’s, at the end of a retreat hosted by Prime Minister Patrick Manning for all the Heads of State/Government who attended the Fifth Summit of the Americas.

Obama and Chavez both attended the retreat at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s, and their discussions during the summit have helped to thaw the cold diplomatic relationship their countries had experienced under the tenure of Obama’s predecessor in office, George W Bush.

’Venezuela is a country whose defence budget is probably one-600th of the United States. They own Citgo (an oil refining and gasoline marketing company in the US). It’s unlikely that as a consequence of me shaking hands or having a polite conversation with Mr Chavez, that we are endangering the strategic interests of the United States,’ Obama said.

Just before the opening ceremony for the summit at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain on Friday, Obama extended a greeting to Chavez and the two shook hands. During this greeting, the Venezuelan President told him of his desire ’that relations between both nations change’.

Yesterday, Obama was asked about criticisms from US Republican Senator John Ensign that his handshake and conversations with Chavez were ’irresponsible’.

’How does this play politically? I don’t know. One of the benefits of my campaign and how I operate as President is that I don’t worry about the politics. I try to figure out what’s right in terms of American interest and on this one I think I’m right,’ Obama said.

On Saturday night, Chavez told reporters outside the Hyatt Regency that he was naming Roy Chaderton, Venezuela’s current representative to the Organisation of American States (OAS), to be his new ambassador to Washington and the US is now considering returning its diplomat to Caracas. (See Page 7)

Yesterday, Obama noted that he does ’have great differences with Hugo Chavez on matters of economic policy and matters of foreign policy’, noting that the Latin American leader’s rhetoric towards the US ’has been inflammatory’.

’There have been instances in which we have seen Venezuela interfere with some of the countries that surround. These are things I think that are a source for concern. Even within this imaginative crowd I think you would be hard pressed to paint a scenario in which US interests would be damaged as a consequence of us having a more constructive relationship with Venezuela,’ Obama said.