The communist Cuban regime has arrested Yoani Sanchez, Cuba's best-known blogger, whose evocative writing on the nature of the communist regime and the dreary life in Cuba have won her international awards.

It was always a matter of curiosity as to why Sanchez hadn't been arrested before, given what she wrote.  But with developments today, it appears it was only a matter of time.

Castro's thugs got her when she was going to blog about a kangaroo-court trial in Cuba.  Castro's men have put some small fry on trial for the mysterious car death of Oswaldo Paya, another big-name dissident, earlier this year.  They are probably attempting to hide the fact that their death squads were what killed Paya.  This sort of cover-up -- making an assassination look like an accident -- is getting frequent in Havana.

So Castro's people did not want Sanchez blogging about that trial -- that's one thing for sure.

But it's likely part of a broader picture as well.  Cuba's communist dictatorship is scared to death that Hugo Chávez of Venezuela will get thrown out of power this weekend, with Henrique Radonski Capriles taking his place.  Capriles has vowed to cut off subsidies from Venezuela's oil earnings and instead spend the money at home.  That's why the Castroites are getting vicious and repressive.  They know the money is running out, and violent force is all they have now.

It has started.