CARACAS/OSLO — Venezuela’s government said on Monday it will close its embassies in Norway and Australia and open new ones in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe as part of a restructuring of its foreign service, after weeks of growing tensions with the U.S.
The closures are part of the “strategic re-assignation of resources,” President Nicolas Maduro’s government said in a statement, adding that consular services to Venezuelans in Norway and Australia would be provided by diplomatic missions, with details to be shared in coming days.
Norway’s foreign ministry said it had received the notice of the embassy closure but no reason for the decision. Norway does not have an embassy in Caracas, and handles local affairs through its embassy in the capital of neighboring Colombia.
“This is regrettable. D