After Maria Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize win, Venezuela orders to close down its Norway Embassy, know why

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado

A few days after Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize, President Nicolas Maduro expressed disapproval of the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision to recognize her work for democracy and ordered the closure of Venezuela’s embassy in Norway. The country’s government also announced that it would close its embassy in Australia and open new diplomatic missions in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso (Africa) in a bid to “strengthen ties with the Global South.”

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Why is Venezuela closing its embassy in Norway?

Maduro’s government has requested the closure of its embassy in the Norwegian capital Oslo due to an internal “reorganization” of its diplomatic missions, Venezuela’s foreign ministry said on Instagram. Venezuela’s foreign ministry said on Instagram that the Maduro government had ordered the closure of its embassy in Norway’s capital as part of an internal “reorganization” of its diplomatic missions.

Norway has been constantly mediating between Maduro’s government and the country’s opposition, which has taken its toll on Machado. The Norwegian government repeatedly intervened between the two parties between 2019 and 2024, resulting in the failure of the Barbados Agreement.

As part of the closure, phone services at the Venezuelan embassy in Norway were also cut off on Monday evening. On the other hand, the Norwegian foreign ministry said that Venezuela closed its Oslo embassy, ​​but did not make any statement. “This is regrettable. Despite our differences on various issues, Norway wants to keep the dialogue open with Venezuela and will continue to work in this direction,” ministry spokeswoman Cecilie Roang told AFP.

The government spokesman also said that the Nobel Peace Prize is “independent of the Norwegian government.” Additionally, Venezuela announced that it would close its embassy in Australia in line with the country’s “geopolitical principles” of “peace and integration.”

Machado is a prominent figure in Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement. He won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his tireless work supporting democracy and human rights in Venezuela. The Norwegian Nobel Committee recognized his struggle for the peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy in its citation.