Venezuela shuts Norway embassy after Machado awarded Nobel Peace Prize
What's the story
Venezuela has shut its embassy in Oslo, Norway, days after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The closure was confirmed by Norway's foreign ministry spokesperson Cecilie Roang. "We have been informed by the embassy of Venezuela that it is shutting its doors and no reason has been given," she told AFP.
Unreachable services
Embassy's phone lines disconnected
According to Verdens Gang daily, the embassy services were no longer answering the phone on Monday afternoon. Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela" and her "struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy." President Nicolas Maduro has since slammed Machado, calling her a "demonic witch" at an event celebrating Indigenous Resistance Day.
Diplomatic shift
Embassy closure part of internal 'reorganization'
Venezuela's Foreign Ministry said the embassy closure was part of an internal "reorganization" of its diplomatic missions. Notably, Norway's government brokered intermittent talks between Maduro and the country's opposition between 2019 and 2024, leading to the Barbados Agreement, which later collapsed. The country will also close its embassy in Australia, adhering to its geopolitical principles of "peace and integration."
New representations
New diplomatic missions in Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso
Venezuela's Foreign Ministry also announced the opening of new representations in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso. The described objective is "to strengthen ties with the Global South." Machado has long campaigned against Maduro, whose 12-year rule is viewed by many nations, including the US, as illegitimate. She told BBC Mundo her award was "like an injection" for her political movement. "It infuses energy, hope, strength on the Venezuelan people because we realise that we are not alone," she said.