PNN – The Venezuelan government has closed its embassy in Norway in response to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Caracas opposition leader.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, citing The Guardian, the Venezuelan government has closed Caracas’ embassy in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, in response to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. The Venezuelan embassy in Australia has also been closed.
Referring to this, Cecilie Roang, a spokeswoman for the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, said that the Venezuelan embassy had not provided any reason for this decision.
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He added: It is regrettable. Despite our differences of opinion on several issues, Norway is willing to maintain dialogue with Venezuela and will move in this direction.
According to the Verdens Gang newspaper, which reported the news, the embassy’s service department has been no longer answering phones since yesterday evening.
This happened three days after Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. As part of Venezuela’s pro-Western opposition, he has made it his mission to overthrow the government of President Nicolas Maduro!
Jürgen Vatne Fridens, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee based in Oslo, said during the award ceremony that Machado was being honored “for his tireless efforts to promote democratic rights for the Venezuelan people and for his fight to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Machado supports the US military presence in waters near Venezuela and attacks on fishing boats accused of smuggling drugs to the US. He also dedicated his Nobel Prize to US President Donald Trump.
Tensions between Washington and Caracas have escalated over what the US says is drug trafficking from Venezuela through US territory. Venezuela has also announced it will open new embassies in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe.
Venezuela has said it is reasonable to expect an armed attack on Caracas in the near future after the US raided its civilian boats. Maduro has said Washington is seeking regime change in Venezuela. Washington has accused Maduro of leading drug trafficking gangs.