Will Venezuela become a new Cuba? Despite recent events, don’t count on it

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro (C) speaks during a meeting with government members after the announcement of the results of the nationwide election for new governors in Caracas, Venezuela October 15, 2017. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS

In the aftermath of Venezuela’s fraudulent Oct. 15 regional elections, the conventional wisdom is that President Nicolas Maduro has closed all avenues to an electoral solution to the country’s crisis, and that Venezuela will become a new Cuba. It may happen, but there are a few things that suggest otherwise.

There are many similarities. Maduro is increasingly acting like an all-out dictator, a la Fidel Castro. Maduro’s most recent elections for 23 governorships were so fraudulent that they were denounced by the United States, the 28-member European Union, and Latin America’s biggest countries, including Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.