On 24 June 1960 there was an assassination attempt against

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

President

Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello (22 February 1908 – 28 September 1981; ), known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was a Venezuelan politician who served as the president of Venezuela, from and again from Second presidency of Rómulo ...

, ordered by the Dominican dictator

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until his assassination in May 1961 ...

Background

Betancourt had denounced the dictatorship of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...

. In turn, Trujillo had developed an obsessive personal hatred of Betancourt and supported many plots by Venezuelan exiles to overthrow him. The Venezuelan government took its case against Trujillo to the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

, turning to diplomacy first over armed response to resolve the political conflict. This infuriated Trujillo, who ordered his foreign agents to assassinate Betancourt in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

Attempt

After multiple failed attempts, which were stopped by Trujillo's allies against his wishes, an incendiary

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...

was detonated on 24 June 1960. The bomb was placed in a parked vehicle and detonated as Betancourt's presidential car drove by

Paseo Los Próceres The Paseo Los Próceres (translatable into English as ''Walkway of the Heroes'') is a monument located in the Venezuelan city of Caracas, near Fort Tiuna and the Military Academy of the Bolivarian Army. On the promenade there are statues of the ...

, one of the main avenues of

. In the assassination attempt, Betancourt was badly burned, the driver was severely injured, and his head of security was killed.

Reactions

The assassination attempt shocked the country. Betancourt walked out of the hospital in front of photographers, with both burned hands wrapped in bandages. Photos of a wounded but living Betancourt were distributed around the world as proof he survived. The incident elevated him in the eyes of the public opinion and helped to destroy one of his most stern Caribbean enemies at the same time.

References

{{Rómulo Betancourt 1960 in Venezuela History of Caracas

Betancourt The Bettencourt family is a French noble family of Norman origin. The head of the family in the 14th century, Jean de Béthencourt, organized an expedition to conquer the Canary Islands, resulting in his being made King of the Canary Islands ...

Rómulo Betancourt Dominican Republic–Venezuela relations State-sponsored terrorism Rafael Trujillo

Background

Attempt

Reactions

See also

References