(CNN) The Republican National Committee on Thursday took a heavy swipe at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -- the 28-year-old Latina who unseated a long-serving Democratic congressman in New York's June primary -- comparing her to Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

A Bronx native with Puerto Rican roots, Ocasio-Cortez is a democratic socialist and -- as of less than two months ago -- a leading figure on the progressive left, which has notched a handful of high-profile Democratic primary wins in 2018 while advocating for programs like "Medicare-for-all" and tuition-free college.

In their email, the RNC calls Ocasio-Cortez the "Mini-Maduro Foreboding The Future Of Democrats" and says she is "leading The Democrat Party To The Left With Nothing More Than An Unsubstantiated, Factually Incorrect Socialist Wish List."

Maduro is the successor to Hugo Chávez, who ruled from 1999 to 2013. His government is nominally socialist, but with Maduro's assorted power grabs and silencing of critics, Venezuela is not governed democratically. It is currently in the grips of a devastating economic and political collapse owing in large part to a drop in oil prices.

Conservative critics, especially online, routinely reference Venezuela's dire state of affairs when arguing against progressive left policies.

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