Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu said on Sunday that the reported arrest of Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro should not be seen as an isolated political development, but as part of a broader global trend marking the collapse of regimes built on evil, corruption, and oppression.
According to Rabbi Eliyahu, a clear line can be drawn between the downfall of dictators and terror leaders in recent years - from the fall of Assad’s rule and the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah and Yahya Sinwar, to the arrest of Maduro. He described these events as part of a historical and moral pattern in which regimes founded on repression, bloodshed, and lies are ultimately destined to disintegrate.
Rabbi Eliyahu said this process reflects the fulfillment of the age-old prayer for the eradication of evil from the world, sending a clear message: a government sustained by violence and deception cannot endure over time.
In remarks he published, Rabbi Eliyahu wrote: “This event is not a local incident, but another link in a tightening chain marking the collapse of evil regimes around the world. Anyone who looks at the broader picture cannot ignore the pattern: tyrants are falling, terror organizations are crumbling, and an entire axis of evil is being pushed onto the defensive."
Over the past year, he noted, “we have seen the collapse of Assad’s rule in Syria, the elimination of Nasrallah and Sinwar, deep strikes on Houthi command centers in Yemen, and now the fall of the Venezuelan tyrant. At the same time, the ground is shaking beneath the ayatollah regime in Iran, which understands full well that the old order is breaking apart."
Rabbi Eliyahu stressed that this is not a random sequence of events. “History teaches us that kingdoms of evil do not survive for long. Just as the Nazi Reich collapsed eighty years ago, and the Soviet Union disintegrated three decades ago, so too are today’s regimes of force, repression, and falsehood falling one after another."
“The common denominator is clear," he continued. “Hatred of Israel, complete disregard for human life, corrupt rule, and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a small tyrannical elite at the expense of a hungry and oppressed population. Whether in Berlin of the 1940s, communist Moscow, Damascus, Tehran, or Caracas - the same pattern repeats itself."
Rabbi Eliyahu said Maduro, like other tyrants, built his power through oppression, brute force, and the plundering of national resources. “Oil-rich Venezuela was turned under his rule into a collapsing state, with millions of refugees, hunger, power outages, and the breakdown of basic systems. This is not merely an ‘economic failure’ - it is a profound moral failure."
He concluded by emphasizing the broader message of Maduro’s fall. “This is not only a political event; it is a message. A message to nations living under dictatorships. A message to tyrants who still cling to their thrones. And a message to the entire world: rule founded on evil is destined to fall.
“We, the people of Israel, know this process well," Rabbi Eliyahu said. “For generations we have prayed on Rosh Hashanah for the removal of evil from the world and the downfall of corrupt governments. Anyone willing to lift their head above the daily headline can see that this prayer is not just a text - it is a reality in the making.
“The tyrants understand this. That is why we rejoice - and they tremble. The reason is simple: G-d does not do half a job. Those who built their power on blood, fear, and lies will, sooner or later, find themselves on the wrong side of history."