Overview

• Norway confirmed Caracas closed its embassy in Oslo without justification and called the move lamentable, noting the Nobel Committee operates independently of the Norwegian state.
• Caracas said the shutdowns are part of a strategic reallocation and announced new embassies in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe to deepen ties it framed as anti‑colonial alliances.
• One day before the closures, Nicolás Maduro derided María Corina Machado as a “demonic witch,” accused the opposition of seeking foreign intervention, and ordered an expansion of indigenous militia formations.
• Machado, who remains in hiding after being barred from the 2024 race, dedicated the Peace Prize to Venezuelans and declared that “the next prize will be the freedom” of the country.
• The diplomatic flare‑up unfolds against a backdrop of U.S. claims that Maduro leads a narco‑state and expanded anti‑drug operations in the Caribbean, which Washington and Venezuelan opposition figures have cited in recent statements.