public opinion against Trujillo. Photos of a wounded but living Betancourt were distributed around the world as proof he survived the assassination attempt that killed his head of security and severely injured the driver, who later died. An incendiary car bomb, which was in a parked vehicle, was detonated as his presidential car drove by one of the main avenues of Caracas, which shocked the nation. With both burned hands wrapped in bandages, Betancourt walked out of the hospital in front of photographers. The incident elevated him in the eyes of the public opinion and helped to destroy one of his most ferocious Caribbean enemies at the same time. Constitutional government cabinet (1959–1964) 1963 elections Perhaps one of the greatest of Betancourt's accomplishments, however, were the successful 1963 elections. Despite threats to disrupt the process, nearly 90 percent of the electorate participated on 1 December in what was the most honest election in Venezuela to that date. 11 March 1964 was a day of pride for the people of Venezuela as for the first time the presidential sash passed from one democratically elected chief executive to another. Prior to Betancourt changing the law, all presidents in Venezuela were elected by Congress – in typical republic model. He was Venezuela's first democratically elected president to serve his full term, and was succeeded by Raúl Leoni. It was Romulo Betancourt who established a democratic precedent for the nation that had been ruled by dictatorships for most of its history. It was 'revolution' by popular vote, without historical reference until then; Betancourt created the political model that had survived in Venezuela for many years afterward. Betancourt Doctrine The Venezuelan president's antipathy for nondemocratic rule was reflected in the so-called Betancourt Doctrine, which denied Venezuelan diplomatic recognition to any regime, right or left, that came to power by military force. Betancourt always defended, and represented, democratic values and principles in Latin America. This put him at odds with the military strongmen who came to dominate and define political perception of the region. During his first message to Congress as President of Venezuela, on 12 February 1959, Betancourt said: "... Regimes disrespectful of human rights, violating their citizens´ freedom, tyrannizing them with the backing of totalitarian political police, should be submitted to a rigorous sanitary cordon and eradicated, through collective pacification, from the Inter-American juridical community" It was during the tense Cuban Missile Crisis, between