(NSI News Source Info) April 17, 2009: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has expressed his hope that during the Su
mmit of the Americas U.S. President Barack Obama will not behave like Spain's king who told him to shut up, local media reported on Friday.
The Summit of the Americas is scheduled for April 17-19 in Trinidad and Tobago and will be Obama's first meeting with Latin American leaders with the exception of the Cuban leadership, which is the only country not invited because of a U.S.-implemented embargo.
"We are ready to participate in the Summit of the Americas and hope the U.S. president who is coming won't follow the example of the Spanish king and tell me to shut up because we plan to speak the truth," Chavez said on Thursday at the closing of the Iberia-Latin America summit in Venezuela.
In 2007 during the summit's closing ceremony, Chavez called ex-Spanish premier Jose Maria Aznar a fascist. The Spanish king subsequently weighed into the quarrel, telling Chavez to "shut up" before storming out of the hall.
In scolding Chavez, King Juan Carlos reportedly opted to use the informal "you," usually used when speaking to close friends or children in Spanish.
Before the unusual royal intervention, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had asked Chavez to show respect for other political leaders.
Commenting on the remark back in Caracas, Chavez said he was surprised by Zapatero's reaction to his statements about Aznar, adding that it was like "German Chancellor Angela Merkel standing up for Adolf Hitler."
Latin American media have reported that there are no plans for tete-a-tete meetings between the U.S. and Venezuelan presidents and that the two will only speak during the summit's general session in which 34 countries will participate.
Obama is expected to offer Latin American countries a new period of cooperation in energy, as well as in the fight against crime and the global economic crisis.
On the eve of the regional summit an annual poll by the Latin American research center, CIMA, was published on the popularity ratings of leaders attending the summit. Some 12,000 people were polled from 19 Latin American countries.
According to the survey, U.S. President Barack Obama emerged as the most popular leader with 70% of votes, whereas Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was the most unpopular with 28%.
mmit of the Americas U.S. President Barack Obama will not behave like Spain's king who told him to shut up, local media reported on Friday.
The Summit of the Americas is scheduled for April 17-19 in Trinidad and Tobago and will be Obama's first meeting with Latin American leaders with the exception of the Cuban leadership, which is the only country not invited because of a U.S.-implemented embargo.
"We are ready to participate in the Summit of the Americas and hope the U.S. president who is coming won't follow the example of the Spanish king and tell me to shut up because we plan to speak the truth," Chavez said on Thursday at the closing of the Iberia-Latin America summit in Venezuela.
In 2007 during the summit's closing ceremony, Chavez called ex-Spanish premier Jose Maria Aznar a fascist. The Spanish king subsequently weighed into the quarrel, telling Chavez to "shut up" before storming out of the hall.
In scolding Chavez, King Juan Carlos reportedly opted to use the informal "you," usually used when speaking to close friends or children in Spanish.
Before the unusual royal intervention, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had asked Chavez to show respect for other political leaders.
Commenting on the remark back in Caracas, Chavez said he was surprised by Zapatero's reaction to his statements about Aznar, adding that it was like "German Chancellor Angela Merkel standing up for Adolf Hitler."
Latin American media have reported that there are no plans for tete-a-tete meetings between the U.S. and Venezuelan presidents and that the two will only speak during the summit's general session in which 34 countries will participate.
Obama is expected to offer Latin American countries a new period of cooperation in energy, as well as in the fight against crime and the global economic crisis.
On the eve of the regional summit an annual poll by the Latin American research center, CIMA, was published on the popularity ratings of leaders attending the summit. Some 12,000 people were polled from 19 Latin American countries.
According to the survey, U.S. President Barack Obama emerged as the most popular leader with 70% of votes, whereas Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was the most unpopular with 28%.
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