Berlin/IBNS/DPA, Jan. 8 -- The German government on Wednesday criticized the US intervention in Venezuela, four days after special forces captured the country's authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores spectacularly, drawing international condemnation.

Unlike some other European countries, Germany initially refrained from condemning the US action.

A government spokesman in Berlin on Wednesday took a more critical stance for the first time, saying the US had "failed to convincingly demonstrate to the UN Security Council that its actions complied with international law."

They have since been brought to New York and indicted on charges related to drug trafficking.

Both pleaded not guilty during the arraignment on Mon...