Overview
- Norway’s foreign ministry said Venezuela informed it the Oslo mission was closing without giving a reason, and phone lines at the embassy were disconnected.
- Caracas described the shutdown as part of a foreign-service restructuring that also closed its post in Australia and opened outposts in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso.
- Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, still in hiding since the disputed 2024 vote, told AFP that Nicolás Maduro will leave power with or without negotiation and said guarantees have been offered to facilitate a transition.
- Machado reported escalating repression and called for an investigation after two Venezuelan activists were shot and wounded in Bogota, an incident confirmed by local police.
- International pressure has intensified with the United States deploying eight warships off Venezuela in August and reporting lethal strikes on suspected narcotrafficker boats at sea.