Venezuela was never a “socialist” country, although nationalizing the oil did make it much more so. It has a clearly defined class system and it only stands to reason that many in the upper tiers of income would welcome a more capitalistic economy. Maduro is a poor leader and not a good flag bearer for Democratic Socialists anywhere, but I’m not sure he’s any worse than Trump if one removes the supporting casts from both.

Venezuela doesn’t really represent a good contrast of ideologies from either view unless one advocates for wasteful and corrupt management of resources and inept economic leadership. Just investing some of the vast oil income into refineries in the past would have insulated it from much of the influence America has exerted over the last decades. It’s not like Maduro didn’t have ample warning from examples close by of American corporate meddling and political disruption.