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Venezuela announced on Monday that it would shut down its embassy in Oslo, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado received the Nobel Peace Prize.
In its announcement, the Venezuelan government abstained from commenting on Machado’s award, stating that the closure was part of a restructuring of its diplomatic service.
Norway’s foreign ministry confirmed the closure of Caracas’ embassy in Oslo but did not provide a reason for it.
The Nobel Committee in Oslo honoured her with the prize on Friday, recognising what it termed “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela,” while Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro referred to the 58-year-old honoree as a “demonic witch.”
The Norwegian foreign ministry called the decision “regrettable.”
“Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue open with Venezuela and will continue to work in this direction,” a ministry spokeswoman said.
Machado remarked that the Nobel Prize “is independent of the Norwegian government.”
For years, Machado has campaigned against Maduro, whose 12-year governance is regarded by many nations as illegitimate.
She has had to live in hiding for much of the previous year.
In honouring her accomplishment, Nobel chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes described Machado as a “key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided in a brutal authoritarian state that is currently experiencing a humanitarian and economic crisis.”
Caracas also shut down its embassy in Australia while opening new diplomatic posts in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, which it referred to as “strategic partners in the fight” against “hegemonic pressures.”
Venezuela’s closure of embassies in two nations allied with the US follows weeks of escalating tensions between Caracas and Washington.
The last time Norway faced a diplomatic spat related to the Nobel Peace Prize was in 2010 with China, when it was awarded to political dissident Liu Xiaobo. Beijing halted trade and other relations, only restoring ties with Oslo six years later.
