OMAHA, June 7: US President George Bush said on Wednesday he was ‘worried’ about Venezuela and suggested that President Hugo Chavez was doing ‘a great disservice’ to his country.

“Sometimes leaders show up who do a great disservice to the traditions and people of a country,” Mr Bush told a woman from Venezuela at a roundtable with immigrants to the United States.

“I’m a little worried about your country,” he said. “I’m worried about it, I’m a little worried about it. I think it’ll be okay.”

Mr Bush has been sharply critical of Mr Chavez for years, accusing him of undermining democracy in Venezuela and suggesting that he has improperly interfered in other countries’ domestic affairs.—AFP