Venezuela announced Monday that it would close its embassy in Oslo, days after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Venezuelan government, which did not comment on Prime Minister Machado, said in a statement that the closure was part of a restructuring of its foreign services.
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Caracas had closed its embassy in Oslo, without giving a reason.
The Nobel Committee in Oslo awarded her the prize Friday for her “tireless work in promoting the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people,” while Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro called the 58-year-old laureate an “evil witch.”
Norway’s Foreign Ministry called the decision “regrettable.”
“Despite our differences on a number of issues, Norway remains open to dialogue with Venezuela and will continue to work in this direction,” a Norwegian ministry spokesman said.
She added that the Nobel Prize is “separate from the Norwegian government.”
Machado has been campaigning for years against Maduro, whose 12-year rule is considered illegitimate in many countries.
She has been in hiding for most of the past year.
In honor of her work, Nobel Committee Chairman Jörgen Watne Friednes called Machado “a key and unifying figure in a once deeply divided political opposition.” In a brutal authoritarian country currently experiencing a humanitarian and economic crisis.
Machado told BBC Mundo that his award was “like an injection” for his political movement. “Venezuelans give us energy, hope and strength because we realize we are not alone,” she said.
Caracas also closed its embassy in Australia and opened new outposts in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, which it called “strategic partners” fighting “hegemonic pressures.”
Venezuela’s closure of the embassies of two close U.S. allies comes after weeks of heightened tensions between Caracas and Washington.
In what the Trump administration calls the war on drugs, U.S. forces destroyed at least four boats transporting drugs from Venezuela to the United States, killing at least 21 people on board.
The strike drew condemnation from countries including Venezuela and Colombia, with some international lawyers calling it a violation of international law.
The last time Norway suffered a diplomatic blow for winning the Nobel Peace Prize was in 2010, when it was awarded to political dissident Liu Xiaobo with China. China suspended trade and other ties and only normalized ties with Oslo six years later.
