Chavez’s Legacy: The Transformation from Democracy to a Mafia State refutes the claim that Chavez’s regime corrected the errors of Soviet Communism. This book traces Venezuela’s communist transformation and its effects on the neighboring nations of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. This book also examines Chavez’s behavior in the international arena, strongly emphasizing his close association with Iran and narcotics terrorism.

"To encourage the review and discussion on the true legacy left him to Hugo Chavez Venezuela and allied countries to the socialist political project, the professor Yorker, Ari Chaplin wrote a penetrating analysis that lays bare what is known as Chávez. ... Chaplin makes a careful study. ... Chaplin leaves a reflection that triggers the discussion at the university level in the United States. World leaders, struggling to maintain democracy, have largely ignored the achievements of leaders like Hugo Chávez and his supporters in their efforts to transform the system of representative democracy to a state controlled by authoritarian mafias." - MiamiDiario