I don't think they ever asked for your sympathy. People can decide how they want to spend their money in a free market economy and they not only spend their money on things that they need but also on things that they want.

They had an election that was fraudulent and countries put sanction on the administration (and country overall) that stole the election. This caused economic issues for Venezuela where lots of people left the country. Recently the current administration showed willingness to work with the opposition that should have really won who also asked to ease the sanctions.