by Roberto Alvarez-Galloso

Created on: March 22, 2009   Last Updated: March 29, 2009

The fear factor has been used by governments in the past and present to control the people and force them into submission. The three classic examples of such control exists in Cuba, Venezuela, and the United States of America.

Cuba has been ruled by the Castro Government since 1959. Fidel and Raul Castro knew that in order to establish a Communist Dictatorship, they would have to use fear and a common enemy. It must be noted that while the common enemy was the United States of America, the governing elite in Washington have maintained the dictatorship in Cuba.

Castro used fear of the firing squad and a group of mob supporters in order to control the people into obeying their every wish. The abolition of God and sending troops to fight in wars such as Angola, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia also added to the fear factor. People who spoke out were imprisoned, tortured, exiled, and/or killed.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch, examples of how the fear factor is being used in Cuba have been politically motivated dismissals from jobs, police warnings, house arrests, surveillance, no fair trial, and the abolition of freedom of speech in the name of security.

People who have opposed Castro have been called parasites, or worse, and have had their homes ransacked, vandalized, and their families threatened. These tactics have been used by a government who states "Those who are not with us are against us" and have been successful.

Venezuala elected Hugo Chavez as their President in 1998. After he took over, he started placing restrictions on personal freedoms by using elections to get the people to vote against their own freedoms. In spite of a spontaneous revolt in 2002 which resulted in his restoration by the Republican and Democratic Elite, he has continued abusing human rights.

Chavez has accused his opponents of being "corrupt and oligarchic" while he has created a state form of capitalism, was able to win the right to be reelected indefinitly, and close down independent media including Radio Caracas Television. Hugo Chavez has expelled Jose Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch after a report concerning the state of human rights in the South American Country.

Those who have voted against Chavez in the multiple elections have been subject to threats, loss of jobs, and being attacked by his supporters. The situation can only go from bad to worse as Chavez has his mind set on ruling the American Continent.

According to Amnestry International USA, about more than 300 unarmed

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