Spanish Official Called Venezuela’s Chavez ‘Clown,’ El Pais Says

Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Trinidad Jimenez called Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a “clown” in conversations with officials from the U.S. embassy in Madrid, newspaper El Pais reported, citing diplomatic cables.

Jimenez made the comment in November 2007, before she was named minister, El Pais said. Her predecessor, Miguel Angel Moratinos, described Bolivia’s President Evo Morales as “inexperienced and ignorant,” according to El Pais.