Juan Carlos I of Spain you shut up?"). Chávez had been interrupting the Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, while the latter was defending his predecessor and political opponent, José María Aznar, after Chávez had referred to Aznar as a fascist and "less human than snakes". The King shortly afterwards left the hall when President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua accused Spain of intervention in his country's elections and complained about some Spanish energy companies working in Nicaragua. This was an unprecedented diplomatic incident and a rare display of public anger by the King. In April 2012, Juan Carlos faced criticism for making an elephant-hunting
Monarchy of Spain himself in the foot during target practice at his father’s estate, echoing a similar but far more serious gun accident involving the king in 1956. According to historians, the then 18-year-old Juan Carlos was cleaning a revolver when he accidentally shot to death his 14-year-old brother Alfonso. Also in 2012, the monarchy was seen as out-of-touch during the financial crisis as the king went on a hunting safari in Botswana while Spanish citizens suffered crippling unemployment and austerity measures at home. Furthermore, sporting a hunting vest and rifle the king was photographed over a dead elephant propped against a tree.