Bogota.– The Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama said that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez "is exploiting'' anti-US feelings in Latin America.

Obama said, however, that Washington should not react "excessively" to his attacks, but understand the needs of the region and seek a "respectful dialogue" with Latin America.

"I think that Chávez has been exploiting the anti-US feelings in the region. This is due, in part, to the fact that the United States has been so obsessed with Iraq that we are not interested enough in the Latin American situation," said Obama in an interview with a group of radio stations, including Colombia's Caracol, which disclosed the statements on Monday, AP reported.

While Washington has focused for years on terrorism and the war in Iraq, "we give to Latin America (for instance) just a week and this has created a vacuum that people like  Hugo Chávez has been able to fill,'' added the Democrat candidate who spoke in English.

"It is important for us not to overreact in relation to Chávez. What we must do is to make him understand that we do not want him to continue spreading anti-US feelings" in the region and that "we are interested in a respectful dialogue with Latin America to seek how to improve their standards of life," he said.