A somewhat undiplomatic moment sprung up at the closing of the Ibero-American summit this weekend in Santiago, Chile.Speaking at the closing session, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez called former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar (a close ally of George W Bush) a fascist, adding "fascists are not human. A snake is more human."
In his speech, current Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero said: "Aznar was democratically elected by the Spanish people and was a legitimate representative of the Spanish people."
Chavez repeatedly tried to interrupt, despite his microphone being turned off.
A clearly irritated King Juan Carlos of Spain, then leaned forward, and using the familiar tense (normally used for close friends or children) retorted, "Why don't you shut up?"
According to reports, Chavez later responded to the king's rebuke, saying, "I do not offend by telling the truth. The Venezuelan government reserves the right to respond to any aggression, anywhere, in any space and in any manner."
The theme of this year's 22-nation summit was "social cohesion".
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