Venezuela Shuts Norway Embassy After Maria Corina Machado Wins Nobel

President Nicolas Maduro will shut Venezuela's embassy in Norway after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, rebuffing Oslo's move to recognise her fight for democracy in the South American nation. 

Venezuela ordered its embassy in Norway's capital closed as a result of an internal "reorganisation" of its diplomatic missions, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on Instagram. Venezuela will also close its embassy in Australia in accordance with the country's "geopolitical principles" of "peace and integration."  Norway has been a key mediator in talks between Maduro and Venezuela's opposition.

Maduro's decision comes on the heels of Machado's 2025 peace prize award on Friday and the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign in the Caribbean to hold him accountable as leader of a drug cartel. 

The prize is awarded by an independent committee appointed by Norway's parliament, which is not related to the Executive's foreign affairs policy.

Norway's government brokered on-and-off talks between Maduro and the country's opposition between 2019 and 2024, leading to the failed Barbados Agreement. Caracas's decision on the embassy closing seems to signal an end to its communication options with Oslo for the foreseeable future.

Since the failed agreements, which Maduro consistently dismissed before holding a 2024 presidential vote that was widely condemned as fraudulent by international observers, the international isolation of Maduro's government has deepened. 

While Venezuela requested a resolution in the United Nation's Security Council to defend its sovereignty, neighboring nations have not acted unanimously in defense of Maduro, but rather with caution. Brazil and Colombia criticised the US actions, while Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago endorsed the US deployment.

In addition to the closures in Norway and Australia, Venezuela's Instagram posting also announced the opening of representations in Zimbabwe and Burkina Fasso, "to strengthen ties with the Global South."