I think you can probably make a pretty good case that German influence wasn't exceptionally important, but "no relation at all"?

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...ezuela1902.htm

It doesn't seem like it was a small thing. I'm hardly an expert, but then again, I wasn't the one throwing around terms like "raping", a loaded term not conducive to debate\free exchange of ideas if there ever was one in English, and I suspect German as well.