MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spanish King and Chavez to close “shut up” incident

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez currently on a European tour is scheduled to meet Friday with Spain's King Juan Carlos in Palma de Mallorca, where the royal family is enjoying their summer holidays. The news was confirmed in Madrid by the royal palace and the presidential office.

From the Spanish coast Chavez will travel to Madrid for a meeting with President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The two leaders are scheduled to give a joint press conference. The interview betweens the Venezuelan leader and the Spanish king and president are the first since November 2007, when during an Ibero-American summit in Chile, King Juan Carlos tried to silence a protesting Chavez by telling his the famous phrase "why don't you shut up". The incident was broadcasted live and was triggered when Chavez begun referring to the previous Spanish president Conservative Jose Aznar as "a fascist". Immediately President Rodriguez Zapatero, Socialist, intervened to ask respect for Mr. Aznar since he had been "freely and openly elected by the Spanish people". But Chavez insisted with his accusations and the King to everybody's surprise interrupted with his famous phrase "why don't you shut up". He then buttoned his jacket and walked out of the conference room packed with leaders from the Americas. Back in Caracas Chavez later threatened to expel and confiscate Spanish investments in Venezuela. However last Sunday in a long interview with the Spanish media the Venezuelan mercurial tempered leader promised he would "embrace" the King "with affection". "It will be my pleasure to embrace the King, but as you know Juan Carlos I will not shut up", said Chavez during a television interview. In Madrid besides patching diplomatic rifts Chavez is expected to bring up the issue of the "return directive" recently approved by the European Union and which contemplates forcibly arresting and returning undocumented residents to their countries of origin, an initiative criticized by the whole spectrum of Latinamerican leaders.