 "Venezuela closes Norway embassy after Machado awarded Nobel Peace Prize")
Venezuela has abruptly closed its embassy in Oslo, Norway’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday, just three days after Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight to restore democracy in the country.
“We have been informed by the embassy of Venezuela that it is shutting its doors and no reason has been given,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Cecilie Roang said in an email to AFP.
“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,” she added.
The closure comes amid renewed tensions between the Venezuelan government and the international community.
According to Verdens Gang, a Norwegian daily, calls to the embassy went unanswered on Monday afternoon, and AFP confirmed by evening that phone lines had been disconnected.
While Venezuela has provided no official explanation, the move follows closely on the heels of the Nobel Committee’s announcement awarding Machado, 58, the Peace Prize for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela” and her “struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Machado, a longtime critic of President Nicolás Maduro, was barred from running in the 2024 presidential election. Maduro was later declared the winner amid widespread opposition protests and international condemnation.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsOn Sunday, Maduro referred to Machado — without naming her Nobel accolade — as a “demonic witch,” a phrase frequently used by his administration to malign political opponents.
The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is traditionally held in Oslo, and the award to Machado further strains the already fraught relationship between Caracas and the Norwegian government, which has at times attempted to mediate Venezuela’s internal political conflicts.
With inputs from agencies
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