King Juan Carlos tells Hugo Chávez to shut up

King Juan Carlos of Spain told the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, to shut up in a session of the 17th Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile.

Chávez, wearing a blue donkey jacket, referred to the previous Spanish prime minister, José María Aznar, as a fascist, adding: "Una serpiente es más humana que un fascista o un racista. Un tigre es más humano que un fascista o un racista." - A snake is more human than a fascist or a racist. A snake is more human than a fascist or a racist.

The Spanish prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, then responded in his allotted time, telling Chávez: "Former prime minister Aznar was democratically elected by the Spanish people and was a legitimate representative of the Spanish people," eliciting applause from the gathered heads of state.

Chávez repeatedly tried to interrupt although his microphone was switched off and the TV clips did not pick up much of Chávez's comments.

King Juan Carlos then became annoyed and snapped at Chávez: "Por qué no te callas?" - why don't you shut up? The king later walked out of the meeting for a while.

Chávez did not immediately respond to Zapatero or the king, but later used time ceded to him by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to speak.

"I do not offend by telling the truth," Chávez said. "The Venezuelan government reserves the right to respond to any aggression, anywhere, in any space and in any manner."

Chávez also asserted: "I was not speaking to the king and he is just as much a head of state as I am with the difference that I have been elected."

Cuban Vice President, Carlos Lage, backed Chavez, saying that "a president's legitimacy stems not only from his election by voters ... he must also be legitimate in the exercise of power."

José María Aznar later called King Juan Carlos and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to thank them.