Venezuela has closed its embassy in Oslo without explanation, days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel peace prize, Norway's foreign ministry confirmed.
The foreign ministry spokesperson, Cecilie Roang, said the embassy had informed them it was shutting its doors, adding: 'It is regrettable. Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue open with Venezuela.'
According to the Verdens Gang newspaper, the embassy stopped answering phone calls on Monday, and numbers were disconnected. The closure follows the Nobel committee's decision to honour Machado 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'.
President Nicolás Maduro, without referring to the prize, called Machado a 'demonic witch', a term his government often uses. Machado, who was barred from running in the 2024 presidential election that Maduro claimed to win despite protests, dedicated her prize 'to the suffering people of Venezuela' and to US President Donald Trump, saying he deserved it for his role in bringing Venezuela closer to freedom.
