Venezuela's government is closing its embassies in Australia and Norway and opening new ones in Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe, in a restructuring of its foreign service.

The embassy closures with the two US allies follows weeks of escalating tensions between Caracas and Washington.

The governments of Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso are more aligned with that of Russia, which has supported Venezuela at the UN and accused the US of acting according to "the cowboy principle of 'shoot first'".

The closures are part of the "strategic re-assignation of resources", President Nicolas Maduro's government said in a statement on Monday, 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 mi

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