The charges themselves are not new. U.S. prosecutors have accused Maduro for years of leading a narcotics trafficking conspiracy tied to Colombian guerrilla groups and of using the Venezuelan state as a vehicle for drug distribution into the United States. What is new—and unprecedented in the Western Hemisphere in recent decades—is the enforcement mechanism. This was not extradition, negotiation, or regime collapse. It was the physical seizure of a sitting head of state and his transfer to a U.S. courtroom.

Administration officials have framed the operation as a law-enforcement action executed with military assets, a distinction that matters both legally and politically. By bringing Maduro to New York rather than to a military tribunal or offshore facility, the United States is signaling that it intends to prosecute the case through ordinary federal courts, with all the procedural visibility and constraint that entails. The venue—Southern District of New York—places the case squarely within the U.S. criminal justice system, not an ad hoc or exceptional forum.

That choice carries risk. Once before a federal judge, the case becomes governed by rules of evidence, discovery, and due process that Washington does not control unilaterally. Defense counsel will have access to public filings, pretrial motions, and appellate pathways. The administration is effectively betting that the strength of the case outweighs the exposure that comes with transparency.

Internationally, the implications extend well beyond Venezuela. The operation collapses a long-standing distinction between indictment and custody when the defendant is a foreign leader. For years, U.S. indictments against Maduro functioned as political and economic pressure tools. Now they have become executable instruments. Other sanctioned leaders will draw their own conclusions about what protections sovereignty still provides when the United States asserts criminal jurisdiction and is willing to enforce it directly.

Inside Venezuela, the immediate political outcome remains uncertain. Maduro’s removal does not by itself resolve questions of legitimacy, succession, or governance, and no transition framework has been formally recognized. What it does do is force those questions onto an accelerated timeline, both domestically and among regional actors who had grown accustomed to a frozen stalemate.

This moment is not defined by how the operation was conducted but by where it ends: a federal courthouse. The story has moved out of the realm of diplomatic signaling and into the slower, more rigid logic of criminal law. What follows will be shaped less by speeches and sanctions than by arraignments, motions, and sworn testimony—processes that are harder to control, and harder to reverse.

For more national and international news stories see USDailyReview.com.

For image attribution information see: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=maduro&title=Special%3AMediaSearch&type=image

The declaration could mean restrictions on travel and public gatherings, tighter censorship, and more authority for law enforcement agencies. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, two men from a former Soviet republic opened fire on volunteer soldiers during target practice and were killed by return fire. It is unclear how martial law will affect the country’s citizens, but the move has a strong repercussion on the country’s economy.

As Ukrainian forces advance on Russian positions in eastern Ukraine, the Russian government is preparing for more attacks. Meanwhile, pro-Russian separatist officials have urged residents of Kherson to evacuate. In an operation that will take a week, at least 50,000 people are set to be evacuated. In addition, President Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting with his energy advisers to address how to maintain power supplies. Currently, about 30 percent of the country’s power stations have been damaged by Russian attacks since Oct. 10. As winter approaches, fears of power outages increase.

In response to these mounting pressures on Russia, the Russian president has tightened his grip on the occupied parts of Ukraine. But Russian troops are losing ground. In the city of Kherson, for example, the Russian military commander has admitted that its hold is slipping. The Ukrainian forces are advancing along both sides of the river, and some bridges near Kherson have been destroyed.

Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day.

9-2-2022

Boris Johnson ‘likely to run for PM again after building up bank balance’

Tory peer Lord Marland, a longstanding friend of the Prime Minister, says there is a ‘distinct possibility’ that he will again aim for No 10

Is the Boris partygate probe ‘flawed’

More News, Less Views at GB News

9-4-2022

Why price controls and windfall taxes do not work

9-5-2022

Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Sri Lanka – three poster countries for price controls

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Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveParkhurst

Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day.

8-23-2022

Sunak represents a failed establishment orthodoxy. His record means he deserves to lose this contest.

8-27-2022

Paying for energy

Don’t be fooled into thinking this disaster movie is coming to an end

8-29-2022

Competition is the best regulator

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Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveParkhurst

Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day.

7-6-2022

Steel tariffs will be the nail in the coffin of global Britain

Debate on energy security

7-7-2022

Live: Boris Johnson resigns as Prime Minister

Defiant to the bitter end, until it was too late – how Boris Johnson became Britain’s Trump

The prime minister resisted resigning until the very last, claiming he owed his mandate to the people, not the politicians – just as Donald Trump saw the mob outside the Capitol as ‘his people’

Instability and an unedifying leadership race ahead as Boris Johnson finally stands down

A new leader will redress the moral deficit, but it is difficult to see them revitalising a very tired and now traumatised government

How Carrie helped blow it for Boris

Will Liz Truss succeed Boris Johnson? Expect the unexpected

A leadership contest is more about who Tory MPs don’t want, than who they endorse as the next PM, writes

7-8-2022

Timeline of why Tory MPs abandoned Boris Johnson and forced him to quit

Ready for Rishi?

Sunak launches leadership bid

Rishi Sunak – Ex-chancellor launches Tory leadership bid after Boris Johnson resigns

Just days ago, the former chancellor quit the Treasury in protest over Johnson’s leadership

The problem with Tom Tugendhat’s ‘clean start’ manifesto

Rishi Sunak sparks full-blown leadership race as he unveils his bid to replace Boris Johnson

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Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveParkhurst

When you’re setting up an account, there’s a question that you’ll need to ask yourself. Should you hide your Instagram-like count?

On the one hand, when you’re not pressured by likes, you won’t second guess yourself. You’ll post more often without fearing that your content won’t catch on. 

On the other hand, not having likes to track will limit you in terms of metrics. 

These are only a few things that you’ll need to keep in mind when making your choice. Keep reading to learn more. 

Pros 

If you’re trying to take better care of your mental health, hiding your Instagram-like count is a great way to do it. You won’t have to deal with quite as much pressure. 

No longer will you have to second guess everything that you post. Hiding likes will also change how your followers interact with each other. 

You Won’t Second Guess Yourself 

When you’re focused on how to get more likes on Instagram, you’re going to question everything that you post.

It’s discouraging to see content that you worked hard on only get a handful of likes. You’ll begin to second guess yourself. When that happens, you’ll post less and less often. 

It’s not easy to gain a following when you only publish content once every few weeks or so. Of course, you can combat your confidence problem and get more likes with a little bit of help. See here to learn more. 

It Allows for More Authentic Content 

When you first create your Instagram account, you’ll throw a bunch of posts at the wall to see what sticks. During this time, you’ll create the sort of content that you want to make. 

As you get more caught up in likes, however, your posts will become more artificial. Soon, you’ll find that you’re no longer creating content that you enjoy. 

It Improves Interaction 

Liking a post is probably the most low-effort thing someone can do. It takes two seconds.

Likes show that people are interacting with your content, but they’re not doing so in any meaningful way. 

By learning how to hide likes on Instagram, you encourage your followers to comment and discuss. 

Cons 

With all the benefits of hiding your likes, you might be wondering if there’s any reason not to, but there is. 

Influencers depend on likes. You also won’t have as many metrics to work with, and more content isn’t always good. 

It’s Bad for Influencers 

Influencers depend on likes and comments. It helps them gauge their effectiveness, which in turn, allows them to make their living. 

Hiding likes also hurt businesses that rely on influencer marketing. 

Fewer Metrics to Pull From 

Likes might be the laziest form of engagement, but it’s still engagement. When you take it out of the equation, that’s one less factor that you can pull from to determine how your page is doing. All you have to go on is comments and follower counts. 

Since commenting on a post takes much more time than liking, you’ll have to work harder to interest your followers and get them talking. 

More Content Isn’t Always a Good Thing

If people don’t have to worry about getting likes, they’ll be more likely to post unfiltered content. They don’t have any reason to limit themselves.

This isn’t always a good thing. Your follower’s dashboards will get flooded with wave after wave of content. That means your posts will get lost in the crowd. 

How Do You Hide Like Counts? 

If you’ve decided that the pros of hiding your like counts outweigh the cons, you’ll be happy to know that doing it is a simple matter of playing around with your settings. 

With only a handful of clicks, you’ll be able to hide likes on your posts and ones from other users. 

Hiding Them on Other Posts 

You want to be able to scroll through your Insta and engage with content without likes influencing your opinion. 

To do this, go to your account. From there, click on the three lines at the top of your page and navigate to your settings. 

Type the word posts in the search field and when the option pops up, click on it. You should see a Hide Like and View Counts section. All you have to do here is move the little bar to the right, and you’re done.  

Hiding Them on Your Own Posts 

If you want to hide like counts on your own content, you’ll have to play around with the advanced settings. You should see this option on the last page before you finalize your post. 

Once again, there will be a Hide Likes and View Counts section that you can turn on by swiping the bar to the right. 

Hiding After You Post

Let’s pretend for a moment that you accidentally created a post without hiding your likes. Is it too late to do it now? 

The answer is no. 

Click on the three dots at the top of the problem post. That will open a pop-up menu that you can use to hide your likes. 

Should You Hide Your Instagram-Like Count? 

As you can see, there are a ton of reasons why you should hide your Instagram-like count. You may want to encourage your followers to have a discussion on your posts. 

Hiding your likes will also give you the confidence you need to post more often. Remember that without likes, you’ll have fewer metrics to work with, though. 

If you’re looking for more tips that will help you thrive on Instagram, visit the Tech section of our blog. 

Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day.

4-13-2022

What estimate has the Health Secretary made of total NHS redundancy payments for the last year?

4-14-2022

You haven’t been bullied because you think you’ve been bullied

Government Slammed Over Pandemic Waste on “Cultural Claptrap”

– – – – – –

Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveParkhurst

Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day.

4-5-2022

Ease the squeeze

4-6-2022

The latest tax rise marks the suspension of Rishi Sunak’s leadership campaign

As national insurance goes up – the chancellor’s prospects go down

The latest CO2 report

4-7-2022

The Government defends free speech for councillors

George Eustice, negotiating agriculture’s future between farmers, free traders, protectionists and rewilders

4-9-2022

The changing face of No. 10

Progressives vs populists: Macron, Orban and Europe’s faultline

Nicola Sturgeon’s secret state

4-11-2022

Cops could BAN eco-warrior protests blocking fuel as ‘shortages’ spark huge queues

– – – – – –

Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveParkhurst

Looking at the news and opinion out of London each day.

3-28-2022

Starmer won’t talk about sex and gender. That’s a problem

3-29-2022

3-31-2022

UK Regulator Withdraws Lancashire Fracking Wells Concreting Order

Starmer changes Labour’s slogan (again)

4-1-2022

The cost of living crisis would be better termed a poverty crisis

The only way many households will manage to get by is cutting back on food spending and reducing their usage of gas and electricity at home

Hartley-Brewer Versus Question Time Climate Activist: “You’re part of the problem!”

Normal people are paying the price for NHS failures

4-2-2022

The government cannot protect everyone from every price rise but it must do more to help those in need

Now that the cap on most energy bills has actually been lifted, people face real hardship

4-3-2022

Climate Lunatic Clues Hand to LBC Mic Mid-Interview

4-4-2022

How to gain popular consent for fracking

– – – – – –

Across The Pond is edited daily by Steve Parkhurst. Steve is a political consultant, a writer at his blog as well as a Senior Editor here at US Daily Review. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveParkhurst