Why are so many leftist Hollywood actors eager to meet Hugo Chavez?

It's plain as day the man is a dictator. He has shut down private newspapers, private news stations, and deports any foreigner who questions his authoritarianism. I thought the left loved free speech?? Now he's meeting with Ahmadi'Nejad (who excutes s and has women prostitutes stoned to death)?? What is the mentality behind the left? Are they blind or do they just see what they want to see?