Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez By Scott Barbour, Getty Images Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez By Scott Barbour, Getty Images Digg



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Facebook SANTIAGO, Chile (AP)  The king of Spain told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to "shut up" Saturday during a heated exchange at a summit of leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Chavez, who called President Bush the "devil" on the floor of the United Nations last year, triggered the exchange by repeatedly referring to former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar as a "fascist." Aznar, a conservative who was an ally of Bush as prime minister, "is a fascist," Chavez said in a speech at the Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile. "Fascists are not human. A snake is more human." Spain's current socialist prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, responded during his own allotted time by urging Chavez to be more diplomatic in his words and respect other leaders despite political differences. "Former President Aznar was democratically elected by the Spanish people and was a legitimate representative of the Spanish people," he said, eliciting applause from the gathered heads of state. Chavez repeatedly tried to interrupt, but his microphone was off. Spanish King Juan Carlos, seated next to Zapatero, angrily turned to Chavez and said, "Why don't you shut up?" The Venezuelan leader did not immediately respond, but later used time ceded to him by his close ally Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to answer Zapatero's speech. "I do not offend by telling the truth," he said. "The Venezuelan government reserves the right to respond to any aggression, anywhere, in any space and in any manner." Later, Chavez joined the presidents of Bolivia and Nicaragua, along with Cuba's vice president, at a parallel "People's Summit" that leftist groups organized. Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage handed Chavez a cellphone as the Venezuelan leader addressed the crowd, saying that Fidel Castro was on the line. Chavez listened briefly and told his audience that Castro was "paying tribute to international and Chilean combatants who fell fighting tyranny." The three-day Ibero-American summit ended Saturday with leaders pledging to fight poverty and increase regional cooperation. The 18 heads of state signed a landmark accord that will allow nearly 6 million migrant workers in Latin America, Spain and Portugal to transfer social security benefits between their nations. The leaders also vowed to fight "all forms of terrorism" and called on the U.S. to end its economic embargo against Cuba. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.