'Why don't you shut up?' King Juan Carlos shouted at Mr Chavez, pointing a finger at him when he tried repeatedly to interrupt a speech by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero.

Mr Zapatero was in the middle of a speech at the Santiago summit of mostly leftist leaders and was criticising Mr Chavez for calling former Spanish premier Jose Maria Aznar 'a fascist'.

Mr Chavez, a former soldier and a leftist foe of the US, is known for fiery speeches laden with bravado and insults - often aimed at the administration of US President George W. Bush.

In the past, he has called Mr Bush a 'donkey', US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice an 'illiterate' and former Mexican president Vicente Fox a 'lap dog of imperialism'.

Mr Chavez said after the session: 'The one who looked bad there was the one who lost control, who told us to shut up as if we were still subjects from the 17th, 18th centuries.'

The three-day Ibero-American summit ended with leaders pledging to fight poverty and increase regional cooperation.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS