Spain's king tells Venezuela's Chavez to "shut up"

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Source: Reuters

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Spain's King Juan Carlos told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Saturday to "shut up" during closing speeches by leaders from the Latin world that brought the Ibero-American summit to an acrimonious end.

"Why don't you shut up?" the king shouted at Chavez, pointing a finger at the president when he tried to interrupt a speech by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

Zapatero was in the middle of a speech at the summit of mostly leftist leaders from Latin America, Portugal, Spain and Andorra, and was criticizing Chavez for calling former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a fascist.
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"I want to express to you President Hugo Chavez that in a forum where there are democratic governments ... one of the essential principles is respect," Zapatero told the leaders gathered in the Chilean capital, Santiago.

"You can disagree radically, without being disrespectful," Zapatero, a socialist, said sternly, drawing applause from some of the other heads of state.

Chavez, a former soldier, made his mark on the three-day summit from the start, announcing his arrival earlier in the week with defiant lyrics from a Mexican ballad.

"With the truth in hand, I do not offend, I do not fear," Chavez said on Saturday. "The government of Venezuela reserves the right to respond to any aggression."
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Chavez interrupted his speech at the rally to call Cuba's Fidel Castro, who he considers his mentor. Chavez paraphrased a message from Castro congratulating Chileans who fought against former dictator Augusto Pinochet.

"Well Fidel, what a shame that we don't have speakerphone on this mobile, the people wanted to hear you," said Chavez, dressed in a red T-shirt.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071110/wl_nm/chile_summit_dc

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Fisticuffs!