When Naomi met Hugo

ONE is known for aiming her fiery temper at personal assistants, the other for using fierce rhetoric against world leaders.

Now, in what could well be one of the least likely interviews of 2008, supermodel Naomi Campbell has "grilled" Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez about everything from the Duchess of Cornwall's looks to Fidel Castro's fashion sense.

The 37-year-old British model, who has previously been dragged to court over her temper, interviewed the socialist leader in her new role as a contributing editor for a leading men's magazine.

Mr Chávez, 53, who was told to "shut up" in November by Spain's King Juan Carlos, offered Campbell the chance to touch his muscles when she asked if he would go topless like Russian president Vladimir Putin.

He also claimed the US president, George Bush, is out to kill him, Fidel Castro is a fashion icon and the Duchess of Cornwall is not very good-looking.

Asked to name "the most stylish world leader", Mr Chávez replied: "Fidel, of course. His uniform is impeccable. His boots are polished, his beard is elegant."

Campbell also asked Mr Chávez if he knew the Spice Girls. "I have memories of them. I know the Queen of England, though. I sent her a present. Coming down from Buckingham Palace, I gave her a coin with her face on it," he said.

Mr Chávez was keen to find out more about the Royal Family, asking Campbell: "Do you know Prince Charles?" When she replied that she had met him and had known Diana, Mr Chávez declared: "I like the prince. Now he has Camilla, his new girl. She's not as attractive, is she?"

Campbell also wanted to know: "Would you go topless like Vladimir Putin?"

"Why not? Touch my muscles," the South American leader exclaimed.

Mr Chávez , also raged against the "genocidal" US or "Empire of the Eagle", and said Mr Bush was "completely crazy".

"We're seeing the fall of the empire. Like the fairytale, the emperor is naked. We've seen the emperor's ass."

Of Mr Bush he said: "He's completely crazy. But he's on the way out," then described Condoleezza Rice as "secretary of state of a genocidal government".

Asked by Campbell if Mr Bush wanted to kill him, Mr Chávez said: "I think he does. Him and his companions."

Mr Chávez said Venezuela is a beacon of human rights – a disputed claim. He added: "We are just starting a peaceful revolution. We don't have a single political prisoner. We have not shot anyone. I don't think there is any country in the world with more freedom of expression than here."

Writing in GQ magazine, Campbell explained why she chose to interview Mr Chávez. "I'd always heard Hugo Chávez was a people's president and I wanted to see if that was true," she said. "Even though it was clear I wasn't going to Venezuela for political reasons, I knew it was a controversial thing to do. People rarely understand that I do things that I may not push in the public eye.

"While my interview with him was the main reason for my visit to Venezuela, I also wanted Chávez to donate something to the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which I represent, and I wanted to see his social programmes in action.

"I didn't want to judge Chávez, or probe him for his political views, even though he gave them freely. I simply went to interview Hugo Chávez the man."

She added: "Since I was last in Venezuela ten years ago, for a Sports Illustrated shoot, people seemed happier."

Mr Chávez showed Campbell his library and paintings, and revealed he loves to sing, leading her to muse: "I believe if he wasn't the president he'd be a very successful singer."

• The full interview is in GQ, on sale on Thursday.