Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, days after opposition figure María Corina Machado — long a target of President Nicolás Maduro’s government — was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.
A spokesperson for Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the move to Reuters on Monday, saying Caracas offered no official explanation for its decision.
“It is regrettable,” the spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue open with Venezuela and will continue to work in this direction.” The ministry also emphasised that the Nobel Committee operates independently of the Norwegian government.
Machado, who has lived in hiding since 2024, was honoured last week for her “extraordinary example of civilian courage in Latin America.” Once a presidential hopeful, she was barred from running in Venezuela’s 2024 election, which handed Maduro another disputed term.
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In a message following the announcement, Machado dedicated her Nobel win to “the suffering people of Venezuela” and to U.S. President Donald Trump, calling him “a steadfast ally in the struggle for freedom.”
Caracas also said it will close its embassy in Australia and instead open two new missions in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe — nations it described as “strategic allies in the anti-colonial fight and in resistance to hegemonic pressures.”
Neither Norway nor Australia maintains an embassy in Venezuela, relying instead on diplomatic representation through Colombia.
The development comes amid escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas. The Trump administration has declared an official “war on Latin American drug cartels,” including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua network. Since September, the U.S. military has carried out at least four strikes on suspected trafficking vessels in the Caribbean.
Maduro, who accuses Washington of orchestrating regime change, has called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene, describing U.S. actions as “open acts of aggression.”