Violence is chaotic, so usually doesn't work in anyone's favor. But a very bad regime might be deterred from imposing some of the worst policies on people if th

Violence is chaotic, so usually doesn't work in anyone's favor. But a very bad regime might be deterred from imposing some of the worst policies on people if they are armed, because potential chaos could topple the regime. For instance, it's hard for me to imagine actually blocking food aid from coming in to hungry people. The people waiting for that food may get desperate and violent. If enough are armed, the ensuing violence and chaos might topple the regime. So Maduro might have been worried enough not to block the food aid if more Venezuelans were armed.