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White House: "Mess around and you'll get hurt"...Trump's photo backdrop: Gimhae Airport, where he met Xi Jinping
  • Yonhap News
  • January 6, 2026 at 6:00 AM
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  • Maduro's social media post on the day of his arrest...reveals the West Hemisphere's will to 'strengthen US hegemony'.
  • Using a photo from the US-China summit held last October... also interpreted as a move to 'check China'.


White House posts 'Mess with us and you'll pay' on SNS on the day of Maduro's arrestWhite House posts 'Mess with us and you'll pay' on SNS on the day of Maduro's arrest [White House Instagram Capture]

It has become a hot topic that the White House, after arresting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, posted a message on its official social media accounts saying "Mess with us and you'll pay," along with a photo of President Donald Trump.


On the 3rd (local time), the day of the operation to arrest Maduro, the White House posted a black and white photo on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram showing President Trump ascending stairs with a determined expression. The phrase 'FAFO' was prominently displayed on the photo.


'FAFO' is an American slang term meaning "F**k Around and Find Out."


Along with the photo, the White House posted the message, "No more games. FAFO."


As the United States strengthens its hegemony in the Western Hemisphere, encompassing Central and South America, through a military operation to arrest President Maduro, this is interpreted as a warning that those who act against U.S. national interests will be thoroughly punished, as evidenced by this operation.


Last September, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses also stated in a speech to generals at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia that if enemies dare to challenge them, he would "show them FAFO."


The photo is particularly noteworthy because it was taken at Gimhae International Airport in Busan on October 30th of last year.


At the time, President Trump was visiting South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Gimhae Airport Air Force Base.


This photo was originally released by the White House on its website photo gallery under the title 'President Trump attends bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping'.


It appears that this SNS post utilized a cropped version of that photo.


Amid analysis that one of the objectives of the Maduro arrest operation is to block the expanding influence of China and Russia in the Western Hemisphere, a region considered America's backyard, the White House's choice of a photo taken on the day of the meeting with President Xi is also being interpreted as an intentional selection.


President Trump at Gimhae Airport on October 30 of last year, during the US-China summitPresident Trump at Gimhae Airport on October 30 of last year, during the US-China summit [White House Website Capture] 

On the 3rd, the Trump administration, through an operation named 'Firm Resolve', raided President Maduro's safe house in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, arresting him and his wife, and extradited them to New York, USA.


President Maduro has been imprisoned at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Brooklyn, New York, and his arraignment proceedings began in court on the 5th. President Maduro is facing charges including conspiring with drug cartels to smuggle drugs into the United States.


The Trump administration's operation to arrest Maduro is primarily driven by the 'war on drugs', but it is also interpreted as a strategy to regain control of oil in Venezuela, the world's largest oil-producing country, and further consolidate single hegemony in the Western Hemisphere.


In a press conference on the 3rd, President Trump stated that the United States would govern Venezuela until a proper transfer of power occurs. He reiterated the 'Monroe Doctrine,' declaring, "America's dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."


'Monroe Doctrine' is a portmanteau combining the name of President Donald Trump with the 'Monroe Doctrine,' a foreign policy declared by U.S. President James Monroe in 1823, rejecting European interference in the Americas. The Trump administration has shown its determination to block the expanding influence of external forces such as China and Russia in Central and South America.


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