Let’s be clear about something: Venezuela wasn’t always a failed state. This is a nation that was once among the wealthiest in the Western Hemisphere, flush with oil revenue and economic opportunity. But decades of socialist policies transformed it into an authoritarian nightmare plagued by poverty, crime, and corruption.
Carmen Maria Montiel knows this story intimately. The Houston-area Republican congressional candidate, who won the Miss Venezuela title in 1984 and later competed as a Miss Universe runner-up, witnessed her homeland’s systematic destruction firsthand.
“Socialism and open borders,” Montiel stated plainly in a recent interview, are what sent Venezuela into its catastrophic decline.
Here are the facts: While Venezuela maintained democratic institutions for decades, two socialist parties dominated the political landscape. The predictable result? Economic deterioration and social collapse.
“We got the influx of illegal immigrants, crime went up, drugs started to be a problem,” Montiel explained. “The first thing they destroyed was the healthcare system.”
This is instructive. Venezuela once boasted one of Latin America’s finest healthcare systems, funded by oil wealth and integrated with social security. But socialist mismanagement could not sustain the infrastructure necessary for rapid population growth driven by unchecked immigration.
Montiel arrived in the United States for college in 1988, hoping conditions at home would stabilize. They did not. Instead, she watched Hugo Chávez launch two coup attempts in 1992 as Venezuela descended into riots and looting.
“I decided I’m gonna stay a little longer, see if things get better,” she recalled. “But they never did.”
From Chávez’s power grab to Nicolás Maduro’s current authoritarian grip, Montiel traces a direct line through corruption, cartel influence, and dangerous foreign alliances with Russia and Iran.
“Communism always runs out of money,” Montiel observed, stating what should be obvious to anyone paying attention. “Even in a rich country like Venezuela, oil production collapsed, and what was left for them was crime. That’s why they joined the cartels — it’s a criminal communist regime.”
This is not hyperbole. United States officials have repeatedly accused members of Maduro’s inner circle of involvement in narcotics trafficking, particularly through the Cartel de los Soles, a network of Venezuelan military officers implicated in smuggling cocaine to North America and Europe. Washington has sanctioned dozens of Venezuelan officials for these activities.
The Venezuelan case study offers crucial lessons for American policy debates. Socialist economic policies, even when initially funded by massive natural resource wealth, inevitably lead to economic collapse. Open border policies strain infrastructure and social services beyond capacity. And when socialist regimes run out of money, they frequently turn to criminal enterprises to maintain power.
Montiel’s perspective carries particular weight given her unique position. She experienced Venezuela’s prosperity, witnessed its decline, and now participates in American democracy as a Republican candidate. Her warning about socialism is not theoretical—it is based on watching an entire nation crumble under policies that some American politicians continue to advocate.
The question for American voters is straightforward: Will we heed these warnings from those who have lived through socialism’s failures, or will we repeat their mistakes? The Venezuelan experience suggests the stakes could not be higher.
Related: Senator Blackburn Demands Answers After Google AI Creates False Rape Accusation From Thin Air