I think the cold war was less about ideology about economic systems and more about alignment with the Soviet Union.

There was plenty of eurocommunism and social democracy in Europe that wasn’t commented on by the US. Relations with the PRC were normalized in the 1970s after the 1961 sino-soviet split.

Assuming they’re the same as Venezuela:

1. Armed coercion to discourage nation-state dissent against the Great Leader of America
2. A way to end “Trump I”-era sanctions without losing face.
3. A way to find new “donors” to Trump’s bank account.

The reason why this failed, was that the dictator’s successor in this instance refused to cooperate with Trump.