Venezuela announced on Monday, October 13, it had closed its embassy in Oslo, days after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In a statement, the Venezuelan government, which has not commented on Machado's prize, said that the closure was part of a restructuring of its foreign service. Caracas also closed its embassy in Australia while opening diplomatic outposts in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, countries it considers "strategic partners in the fight" against "hegemonic pressures," the statement said.
Norway's foreign ministry on Monday said Venezuela had closed its embassy in Oslo without giving a reason. "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," spokeswoman Cecilie Roang told Agence France-Presse in an email. Phone services at the Venezuelan embassy had been disconnected by Monday evening.
Venezuela's move comes three days after Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. She had been prevented from running in the 2024 presidential election, in which the incumbent, Nicolas Maduro, was declared the winner despite opposition protests. On Sunday, Maduro, without mentioning Machado's Nobel, referred to the 58-year-old laureate as a "demonic witch," a term often used by the government.
Machado was honored "for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy," said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo. Roang, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, stressed that "the Nobel Prize is independent of the Norwegian government."
Machado dedicated her Nobel to the "suffering people of Venezuela" and to US President Donald Trump, citing his "decisive support of our cause." On Monday night, she called for an investigation after two Venezuelan activists were shot and wounded in Bogota, Colombia.
These activists, identified as Luis Alejandro Peche and Yendri Velasquez, were about to get on a bus when they were shot, police in Bogota said. Machado said on X they were "persecuted" by "the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro."