Venezuela closes embassy in Norway after Nobel Prize for Opposition Leader

Venezuela announced on Monday that she will close her embassy in Oslo, days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was praised with the Nobel Peace Prize,

In a statement, the Venezuelan government did not comment on Machado's price, saying the closure was part of a restructuring of its foreign service.

Norway's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Karakaki had closed her embassy in Oslo without giving a reason.

The Nobel Committee in Oslo awarded it the award Friday in recognition of what it called its 58-year-old <x0work in promoting democratic rights for Venezuela's people”, while Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro called the 58-year-old laureate a key “x3>.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry called the decision the sorry “, translated”.

Despite our differences on certain issues, Norway wants to keep dialogue open with Venezuela and will continue to work in this direction”, a ministry spokeswoman said.

She added that the Nobel Prize “is independent from the Norwegian government” reports the BBC.

Machado has campaigned against Maduro for years, whose 12-year rule is viewed by many nations as illegal.

She's been forced to live in hiding for most of last year.

Honoring its achievement, Nobel Prize Chairman Jergen Watne Frednes called Machado a key and unifying <x0figuric in a political opposition that was once deeply divided... into a brutal authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis”.

Machado told BBC Mundo that her price was “as an injection” for her political movement. It gives energy, hope and strength to the Venezuelan people because we understand that we are not only”, she said.

Caracas also closed his embassy in Australia, as he opened new positions in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, which he called <x0 strategic partners in the” war against “hegemonic pressures”.

The closure of embassies from Venezuela into two close US allies comes after weeks of increased tension between Caracas and Washington.

The US Army has destroyed at least four ships that said they were transporting narcotics from Venezuela to the US, killing at least 21 people on board, in what the Trump administration calls a war against drugs.

The attacks have drawn sentences in countries, including Venezuela and Colombia, with several international lawyers describing the attacks as a violation of international law.

The last time Norway suffered a diplomatic blow because of the Nobel Peace Prize was with China in 2010, when it was awarded to political dissident Liu Xiaobo. Beijing suspended trade and other relations, and normalised ties with Oslo only six years later. /Periscope