Totally agree.
But my limited knowledge of affairs in Venezuela keeps throwing up the same conundrum - why would a country, with vast oil resources and by most accounts, a vibrant, industrious middle-class, vote in left-wing socialist totalitarian like Chavez or Maduro?
The only plausible explanation I can think of is that there is an underbelly of working poor that live in sub-standard accommodation, inadequate access to health services, education, employment. Violent crimes like murder occur without any meaningful investigation from the authorities and drug cartels try dictate the order of the day. This in life in the 'barrios'.
The problem as I see it, is that Venezuela has too many people living in poverty, and for a country with the oil resources it has, that is a political failure.
What Chavez did was organize the poor into a political force. Not only that, he began to deliver on his promise of using Venezuelas wealth to build houses and schools for the poor - this is the revolution. The poor have being doing this through the ages. Once organized, and with the political will, democracy can be an inconvenient pill to swallow for some.
That said, those whose legitimate stakes, or contracts have been usurped, are deserving of some compensation.
Negotiation is the way forward. Corporate US needs to acknowledge what prompted this revolution. It cannot hide behind 'free market' ideology and continually stamp its feet behind the war dogs in Washington.