Venezuela has closed its embassy in Oslo without any explanation, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this Monday, October 13, three days after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado.
“The Venezuelan embassy informed us that it was closing its doors, without giving any reason,” a spokeswoman for the Norwegian ministry, Cecilie Roang, told AFP in an email.
“This is regrettable. Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to maintain an open dialogue with Venezuela and will continue working in this direction,” he added.
According to the newspaper Verdens Gang, which published the information, the embassy services no longer answered the phone on Monday afternoon. Their numbers were out of service, AFP confirmed in the evening.
“The Nobel Prize is independent of the government”
This announcement comes three days after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in Oslo to María Corina Machado, who made the fall from power of Hugo Chávez (predecessor of President Nicolás Maduro) in Venezuela the cause of her life.
María Corina Machado had been prevented from running in the 2024 presidential elections, where the outgoing Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner despite protests from the opposition.
On Sunday, Nicolás Maduro, without mentioning her Nobel, called the 58-year-old winner a “demonic witch,” a term often used by the government. “The Nobel Prize is independent of the Norwegian Government and when it comes to issues relating to this prize, we refer to the Nobel Committee,” insisted Cecilie Roang.
María Corina Machado was awarded “for her tireless work in favor of the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and for her fight for a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” according to the Nobel committee.
Source: BFM TV
