Venezuela closes Embassy in Norway following Opposition Leader’s Nobel Peace Prize

Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Oslo, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

According to BBC News, in a statement on Monday, the Venezuelan government did not directly address Machado’s award, saying the closure was part of a broader restructuring of its foreign service. Norway’s foreign ministry confirmed that Caracas had closed the embassy but did not receive an official explanation.

The Nobel Committee awarded Machado the Peace Prize on Friday in recognition of “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.” Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, however, referred to the 58-year-old opposition figure as a “demonic witch.”

Norwegian officials described Venezuela’s decision as “regrettable.” A ministry spokeswoman said, “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue open with Venezuela and will continue to work in this direction.” She emphasized that the Nobel Prize “is independent of the Norwegian government.”

Machado, who has spent much of the past year living in hiding due to her opposition to Maduro’s government, said in an interview with BBC Mundo that the award was “like an injection” for her political movement. “It infuses energy, hope, strength on the Venezuelan people because we realise that we are not alone,” she said.

In addition to closing its embassy in Norway, Caracas has also shut its mission in Australia while opening new diplomatic posts in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, describing them as “strategic partners in the fight” against “hegemonic pressures.”

The closures follow weeks of heightened tension between Venezuela and the United States. The US military recently destroyed at least four boats allegedly carrying narcotics from Venezuela to the US, resulting in at least 21 deaths. The strikes have drawn condemnation from multiple countries, including Venezuela and Colombia, with some international lawyers describing them as a breach of international law.

The situation recalls a similar diplomatic crisis in 2010, when China suspended trade and other relations with Norway after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to dissident Liu Xiaobo. Relations were only normalized six years later.