Many heads of state and international figures offered condolences and sympathy, including Pope Benedict XVI, the presidents of South Korea, Chile, France, Mexico, and Peru, the president-elect of Mauritania, the prime ministers of Greece and Japan, and the king of Morocco. Statements of condolence were issued by officials and diplomats from Canada, Georgia, Hungary, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, Suriname, Thailand, and Venezuela. A State Department spokesman said, "We haven't seen this kind of sympathy and support since Hurricane Katrina and 9/11." South Korean UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the killings.