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Days after Maria Corina Machado's Nobel Peace Prize, why did Venezuela close its embassy in Norway?
The Nicolas Maduro-led Venezuelan government said that it was also closing its enemy in Australia, and opening representations in Zimbabwe and Burkina Fasso.
Days after Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, President Nicolas Maduro ordered the closure of the Venezuelan embassy in Norway, a move showing his regime's views against the Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision to recognise and honour her fight for democracy in the South American country.
Caracas also announced that it was closing its embassy in Australia, and opening representations in Zimbabwe and Burkina Fasso, "to strengthen ties with the Global South".
Why Venezuela shut its Norway embassy?
In a statement shared on Instagram, Venezuela's foreign ministry said that the Maduro government has ordered its embassy in Norway's capital closed as a result of an internal "reorganisation" of its diplomatic missions.
Notably, Norway has been a significant mediator in the talks between Maduro's government and the Venezuelan opposition, of which Machado is a member. The Norwegian government has mediated on-and-off talks between the two sides between 2019 and 2024, resulting in the failed Barbados Agreement.
Phone services at the Venezuelan embassy had also been disconnected by Monday evening.
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However, Norway's foreign ministry said that Venezuela closed its embassy in Oslo without giving any reason. "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," Cecilie Roang, a ministry spokeswoman, told news agency AFP.
Roang also emphasised that the Nobel Peace Prize is "independent of the Norwegian government".
Additionally, Venezuela said that it was closing its embassy in Australia in accordance with the country's "geopolitical principles" of "peace and integration".
Machado vs Maduro
Maria Corina Machado, leader of the opposition, member of the Vente Venezuela party, and a democracy activist, received the Nobel Peace Prize on October 10, "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".
Nicolas Maduro's government has not yet commented on Machado's Nobel Prize.
Her "choice of ballots over bullets" amid the tense state of the political landscape in her country marks her strive to fight for democracy against Maduro's regime.
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She has previously termed Nicolas Maduro's leadership in Venezuela as a "dictatorship". Machado has led several anti-government protests against Maduro from the forefront. She and the opposition also alleged that Nicolas Maduro had lost and stolen the 2024 presidential elections, when in reality, the original winner was her party colleague, Edmundo Gonzalez.
In August 2024, Maria Corina Machado went into hiding, "fearing for my life, my freedom, and that of my fellow countrymen from the dictatorship led by Nicolás Maduro".
The bitterness seemed to grow as Maduro, on Sunday, without mentioning Machado's Nobel, referred to the laureate as a "demonic witch", a term often used by his government.
Meanwhile, Maria Corina Machado told AFP in an interview from hiding that Nicolas Maduro's time is up, but he can still leave power peacefully.
In what seemed like a barbed olive branch, Machado said that Maduro could get personal guarantees if he were to cede power in Venezuela.
"Maduro currently has the opportunity to move toward a peaceful transition. We are ready to offer guarantees, guarantees that we will not make public until we are sitting at that negotiation table. If he continues to resist, the consequences will be entirely his responsibility," she warned. Machado affirmed, but "with or without negotiation, he will leave power".
She accused Nicolas Maduro of being the one who "declared war on Venezuelans". Machado also said that Gonzalez, whom the opposition considers the rightful winner of the 2024 presidential election, has publicly asked her to serve as vice president.
"I'll be wherever I can be most useful to our country," Machado said.
(with inputs from agencies)
