In response to a 1960 declaration by the OAS condemning his regime, Trujillo organized an attempt on Betancourts life in Caracas. The Venezuelan president survived and forced the Dominican Republics expulsion from the OAS. These actions were instrumental in debilitating the Dominican tyrant, whose regime collapsed a year later. In 1962, Betancourt also played a key role in having Cuba expelled from the hemispheric body. Castro funded and supported an armed communist insurrection against Betancourt, who crushed the enemy with harsh tactics but preserved the republican institutions. Venezuela, a country that Fidel Castro saw as a dangerous alternative to the Cuban model, went on to enjoy three and a half decades of democratic rule. Through Isaiah , Jehovah said : “ This people have come near with their mouth , and they have glorified me merely with their lips , and they have removed their heart itself far away from me . ”