Name: Germany responds cautiously to U.S. capture of Nicolas Maduro
Uploaded: 2026-01-05T13:04:58.482Z
Duration: 3 min
Description: Germany appears to be walking a diplomatic tightrope over the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday. The far-right AfD party was the only political force to welcome the U.S. intervention.

Germany appears to be walking a diplomatic tightrope over the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday. The far-right AfD party was the only political force to welcome the U.S. intervention.

Berlin

German officials have taken a measured approach in response to the US military operation that resulted in the capture and removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Chancellor Friedrich Mertz described Maduro as illegitimate and welcomed his removal, but stressed the complexity of the operation's legality and called for adherence to international law.

Within Germany's coalition government, opinions are divided: the conservative bloc remains cautious, while the Social Democrats have criticized the intervention as unjustified and illegal. The far-right Alternative for Germany party is the only major party to openly support the US action, viewing it as indicative of shifting global geopolitics.

Germany responds cautiously to U.S. capture of Nicolas Maduro

And DW political correspondent Matthew Moore is here to give us more details on the German position. So Matthew, bring us up to date about how Germany has been reacting to these US actions in Venezuela. Well, Sarah, this military operation has put Germany in something of a diplomatic tightrope. You could see that really in the length of time that it took the German government to respond to the events in Venezuela. Chancellor Friedrich Mertz sent out a statement shortly before 8pm Berlin time in the evening on Saturday. So around 12 hours after those first reports began emerging and in his initial reaction Mertz described Nicolás Maduro as an illegitimate leader and welcomed his removal, while at the same time describing the legality of his removal as complex. We are taking our time to consider this. This international law remains the benchmark. Mertz called for orderly return to democracy and free elections. And now today the foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, has said the US really needs to explain under what legal basis it intervened. He said that the ruler Nicolás Maduro had been removed and he was responsible for violent human rights abuses. And so you can see here Germany trying to avoid direct criticism of the United States and Donald Trump, perhaps because they fear a retaliation. At the same time, they're under pressure to underline their support for international law. And to that end, we saw since then, we've seen the EU's foreign ministry, foreign minister Kaya Kalas release a statement doing just that, underlining, calling all actors and members of the Security Council to adhere to international law. Matthew, Germany is run, of course, by a coalition government. Just walk us through whether the parties are united on this issue. That's right, Sarah. I just gave you the conservative bloc in this coalition government's position, which is slightly on the fence, if you like. On the other hand, the vice chancellor, who's the head of the Social Democrats in the coalition, has said that he thinks that it was unjustified. That is the removal of Nicolas Maduro. The foreign policy spokesperson for that party, the Social Democrats, said he thinks that the intervention was illegal. So you see a really stark contrast there. And that's the toughest criticism I've seen. Interestingly, Sarah, if you look at around the political landscape here in Germany, the only party that has welcomed this in a way is the alternative for Germany, the far-right party that is the main party of opposition here. They've said that this intervention reflects a realignment of geopolitics globally. And that, I think, suits the alternative for Germany. Matthew Moore, thank you.

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