Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez suggested that Spanish King Juan Carlos knew in advance of a 2002 coup that briefly removed him from power, stoking a diplomatic spat fueled by the monarch's demand at a summit that Chavez "shut up."

Spanish King Juan Carlos AP PHOTO

Chavez, who was in Chile for the summit, claimed Nov. 10 that Spain's ambassador had appeared at Venezuela's presidential palace during the two-day coup to support interim President Pedro Carmona -- with the king's blessing. Chavez asked how deeply Juan Carlos had been involved.

"'It's very hard to imagine the Spanish ambassador would have been at the presidential palace supporting the coup plotters without authorization from his majesty," Chavez said.