Contemplate a country in which the chief executive and supporters seize control of the Supreme Court.

Imagine a country in which federal authorities prosecute and censor political opponents — depriving them of human rights, such as the freedom to speak without authoritative retaliation.

We expect this of tin-pot dictatorships. Yet, Americans see tinges firsthand as politicians and useful idiots prosecute a former president and his closest advisers on charges no one else would face. We saw it with the politically motivated prosecution of President Joe Biden’s son.

Imagine a presidential administration that overregulates oil and gas, to the point of discouraging production.

We see all of this in the United States, yet few seem to know where it could lead if allowed to continue long-term.

To understand the potential outcomes of this trajectory, talk to Venezuelans who fled their country for refuge in Colorado. State officials report most of the 40,000-plus “new arrivals” are Venezuelans who have lived the past 25 years under full-fledged socialism imposed by former President Hugo Chávez and successor Nicolás Maduro.

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“Mr. Chávez,” explains a 2020 news article by The New York Times, “fired nearly 20,000 oil professionals, nationalized foreign-owned oil assets and allowed allies to plunder the oil revenues.”

“At gas stations, lines go on for miles,” The Times reported. “… Near Venezuela’s massive coastal refineries, residents forage for firewood and trawl their fishing nets on foot to find food. Their fishing boats are beached without gasoline, and their kitchens have long run out of cooking gas.”

Americans rightly complain about inflation hitting 9% under Biden and the high prices that linger. Under Maduro’s regime, inflation hit 2,000,000% — yes, 2 million percent versus our 40-year high of 9% — destroying agriculture and leaving stores empty. Desperate for calories, Venezuelans have eaten zoo animals and pets.

By obstructing oil and gas, abrogating checks and balances and prosecuting dissent, two socialists turned a South American paradise into a regulatory hellscape that caused 7 million — a quarter of the population — to flee.

That’s why roughly 4,000 Venezuelan immigrants illegally in the U.S. rallied outside an Aurora Target on Sunday — shooting bullets into the air — after Maduro declared victory in a highly suspect election against reform candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.

Leading to election day, polls had Gonzalez winning by nearly 60%. Throughout the day, exit polls showed voters trouncing Maduro. Venezuelan migrants gathered in Aurora to celebrate. Then, voilà!, Maduro declared victory and the celebration went bad.

“Chávez and his followers moved to concentrate power. They seized control of the Supreme Court and undercut the ability of journalists, human rights defenders, and other Venezuelans to exercise fundamental rights,” explains Human Rights Watch.

Maduro continued and intensified Venezuela’s socialist course.

Despite any well-intentioned constitution — as late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia impressed on a Gazette editorial board member — no country can uphold human rights without a free population, separation of powers, private enterprise and the energy to sustain it. Attacking any or all the above leads to economic and social despair.

Given our country’s open borders, of course victims of oppression flock here. Of course, dysfunctional governments send criminals our way in desperation to manage chaos. Of course, we will take on the problems we have worked so hard to avoid for nearly 250 years.

The United States cannot fix countries ruined by socialist authoritarianism and redistribution. We can and should enforce our federal Constitution by protecting three separate-but-equal branches of government in a sustained state of constructive conflict.

We can and must protect this constitutional republic of law. That involves controlling our borders, while learning from those who risk their lives to breach them.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board