after Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize, President Nicolas Maduro directed to shut of Venezuela’s embassy in Norway, expressing their disapproval of the prize. However, the foreign ministry has cited internal “reorganisation” as the reason.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado
A few days after Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize, President Nicolas Maduro directed to shut of Venezuela’s embassy in Norway, expressing their disapproval of the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision to recognise her work for democracy. The country’s government has also announced that it would close its embassy in Australia and would open new diplomatic missions in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, in Africa, to “strengthen ties with the Global South.”
Why is Venezuela shutting down its embassy in Norway?
Venezuela’s foreign ministry, in a statement on Instagram, said that the Maduro government has asked its embassy in Norway’s capital, Oslo, to close down due to an internal “reorganisation” of its diplomatic missions. Taking to Instagram, Venezuela’s foreign ministry said that the Maduro government has ordered the closure of its embassy in Norway’s capital as part of an internal “reorganisation” of its diplomatic missions.
Norway has been continuously mediating between Maduro’s government and the opposition of the country, whose part is Machado. The Norwegian government has intervened time and again between the two parties between 2019 and 2024, resulting in the failed Barbados Agreement.
As part of the closure, phone services at the Venezuelan embassy in Norway had also been disconnected by Monday evening. On the other hand, Norway’s foreign ministry said that Venezuela closed its Oslo embassy but did not give any explanation. “It is regrettable. Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue open with Venezuela and will continue to work in this direction,” ministry spokeswoman Cecilie Roang told AFP.
The government spokesperson further said that the Nobel Peace Prize is “independent of the Norwegian government.” Also, Venezuela announced that it is closing its embassy in Australia in line with the country’s “geopolitical principles” of “peace and integration.”
Machado holds a significant figure in Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement. She won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her tireless work promoting democracy and human rights in Venezuela. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, in its citation, recognised her struggle for a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.