After the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by the United States, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) said the left-wing nationalist had “led his country to ruin.” At the same time, Merz said the “legal assessment” of the U.S. operation was “complex.” Germany’s Foreign Office has meanwhile issued a travel warning for all of Venezuela.
In a statement from the chancellor’s office, Merz said that through “ill-fated alliances worldwide and Venezuela’s entanglement in the drug trade,” Maduro had played “a problematic role.” He added: “The last election was rigged – we therefore did not recognize the presidency, as many other countries around the world did not either.”
However, the German government said it would take time to assess the legality of the U.S. action. “In relations between states, the principles of international law must apply,” Merz stressed. He added that “no political instability must now arise” in Venezuela.
In a large-scale military operation, the United States carried out strikes on targets in Venezuela overnight into Saturday and captured Maduro and his wife. Maduro has been detained in New York and is to stand trial there on charges of “conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism.” According to U.S. President Donald Trump, the United States intends to temporarily take over the leadership of the South American country. Venezuela’s top court has meanwhile appointed Maduro’s former deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, as interim president.
Following the U.S. military operation, Germany’s Foreign Office issued a travel warning for the entire country. German nationals in Venezuela were urged to remain in a safe location, the ministry said after a meeting of the federal government’s crisis team. The Foreign Office said it was “in very close contact” with the German embassy in Caracas.
“The federal government continues to monitor the situation in the country with concern, continuously and very closely,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said. “We call on all parties to refrain from anything that could lead to a further escalation of the situation and to seek ways toward a political resolution.” International law must be respected in this process, the spokesperson added.
CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter sharply condemned the U.S. action as a “coup.” “With President Trump, the United States is definitively abandoning the rules-based order that has shaped us since 1945,” he told the newspaper Bild. “Venezuela is indeed an unjust state, but it is not Iran, which threatens neighboring countries like Israel with its very existence.”
By contrast, Jürgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, described the events as “a signal of hope for Venezuela.” “For many years, Maduro has oppressed civil society in Venezuela and spread terror and drugs throughout the region,” he told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. SPD leader and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil called “the events in Venezuela” “very troubling.” Maduro had led an authoritarian regime, he said. However, this could “not justify violating international law.”
Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour told the news portal t-online that Maduro had “robbed the people of Venezuela of their freedom.” But with Trump’s unilateral action, “the rules-based international order is crumbling.” Left Party leader Jan van Aken said: “Anyone who, like Trump, breaks international law and has presidents abducted is engaging in brutal state terrorism.” He called for sanctions similar to those imposed on Russia and President Vladimir Putin over the war of aggression against Ukraine.
Trump accuses Venezuela of actively promoting drug trafficking into the United States, thereby endangering the security of the U.S. and its citizens. As early as December, he said the days of Maduro, who is also not recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate president by many European states — were “numbered.” Unlike neighboring Colombia, Venezuela does not produce drugs on a large scale, but is considered a transit country.
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