Dominican dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo (r. 1930–61) achieved support from the US by becoming Latin America's leading anti-communist. Trujillo extended his tyranny to the USA, and his regime committed multiple murders in New York City. American officials had long recognized that the Dominican Republic's conduct under Trujillo was "below the level of recognized civilian nations, certainly not much above that of the communists." But after Castro's seizure of power in 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower concluded that Trujillo had become a Cold War liability. In 1960, Trujillo threatened to align with the Communist world in response to US and Latin American rejection of his regime. La Voz Dominicana and Radio Caribe began attacking the US in Marxian terms, and the Dominican Communist party was legalized. Trujillo also unsuccessfully attempted to establish contacts and relations with the Soviet Bloc. In 1961, Trujillo was murdered with weapons supplied by the CIA. Ramfis Trujillo, the dictator's son, remained in de facto control of the government for the next six months through his position as commander of the armed forces. Trujillo's brothers, Hector Bienvenido and Jose Arismendi Trujillo, returned to the country and began immediately to plot against President Balaguer. On November 18, 1961, as a planned coup became more evident, US Secretary of State Dean Rusk issued a warning that the United States would not "remain idle" if the Trujillos attempted to "reassert dictatorial domination" over the Dominican Republic. Following this warning, and the arrival of a fourteen-vessel US naval task force within sight of Santo Domingo, Ramfis and his uncles fled the country on November 19 with $200 million from the Dominican treasury.