In a whirlwind week of diplomacy and high-stakes negotiation, U.S. President Donald Trump has found himself at the center of a series of peace breakthroughs spanning from Southeast Asia to South America, drawing both praise and controversy on the world stage. As regional conflicts flared and long-standing disputes threatened to spiral, Trump’s brand of economic pressure and personal diplomacy has, at least for now, delivered results that leaders and observers alike are calling historic.
On October 26, 2025, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, saw a rare moment of unity and hope. According to BBC, President Trump presided over the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia, resolving a border conflict that had erupted into open fighting just months prior, in July 2025. The initial push for peace came from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who used his longstanding relationships with both countries to broker a preliminary truce. But it was the heavy diplomatic and economic pressure from the Trump administration that ultimately sealed the deal.
"He saved lives," Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet declared, as reported by Reuters, officially nominating Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize and commending his "decisive leadership" in brokering the ceasefire. Manet’s nomination, submitted on October 27, 2025, credits Trump for preventing further bloodshed along the tense border and providing a critical intervention when it was needed most.
Trump’s strategy at the summit was as calculated as it was bold. Alongside the ceasefire, the U.S. announced new trade agreements with both Cambodia and Thailand, using the promise of economic partnership as leverage to encourage peace. As BBC noted, Trump made it clear that business deals would be tied to progress on diplomatic fronts, a move that gave Southeast Asian leaders both an incentive and a reason to engage. For many of the region’s export-dependent economies, face time with the American president and access to the U.S. market were too valuable to ignore.
The ASEAN Summit itself was a who’s who of global power, drawing leaders from China, the European Council, Canada, Brazil, and South Africa. While the group has long faced criticism for its non-interference principle and limited ability to resolve thorny issues—such as the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, now in its fourth year—the Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire marked a rare and much-needed win. "People who criticise ASEAN for its inability to get its house in order, they are absolutely right. So unless ASEAN can handle more pressing issues, its relevance will always get called into question," said Huong Le Thu, deputy director of the Asia programme at the International Crisis Group, in comments to BBC.
Yet, the summit was not just about conflict resolution. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reached a framework deal on rare earths and tariffs with China’s He Lifeng, setting the stage for a highly anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea. In another symbolic move, ASEAN formally welcomed East Timor as its newest member, completing the geographic puzzle of Southeast Asia and stirring emotional scenes on the summit floor.
While Trump’s actions in Asia grabbed headlines, his influence was also felt thousands of miles away in Venezuela. On October 27, 2025, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, speaking from hiding at Fortune’s Global Forum, credited Trump’s administration for taking decisive steps against the regime of President Nicolás Maduro. Machado, who had just won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her relentless advocacy of democratic rights, described Maduro’s government as a "narco-terrorist structure" and insisted that the only way to dismantle it was to cut off funds from illicit activities like drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and human smuggling.
"Finally, we’re seeing in this administration, with the leadership of President Trump, the division and the targeting to cut those inflows from coming into the regime. So that’s why we’re seeing this unique opportunity very close, very close to the inner future in terms of a peaceful transition to democracy once the regime finally realizes that it’s time, it’s over," Machado said, as reported by Fortune.
Her comments came just as a U.S. guided missile destroyer docked in Trinidad and Tobago’s capital, a clear signal of increased military pressure on Venezuela. Maduro, for his part, decried the move as an attempt by the U.S. to fabricate "a new eternal war" against his country. But Machado pushed back: "It was Nicolás Maduro who started this war, and he has been offered all along this way since we won by landslide, a presidential election last year, he has been offered a negotiated transition; it has been Maduro, who has refused and has stayed in power through the most brutal repression campaign… he knows the consequences, and he has been warned to stop this."
Machado’s path to prominence has been fraught with danger. Ahead of the July 28, 2024, presidential election, she was the main opposition candidate until the regime blocked her candidacy. Undeterred, she threw her support behind Edmundo González Urrutia, who, according to opposition tallies, won the election in a landslide—67% to 30%—despite the government-run National Electoral Council declaring Maduro the victor without presenting evidence. Since then, Machado has gone into hiding, citing threats to her life and freedom.
In a passionate piece for The Wall Street Journal, Machado wrote, "Mr. Maduro didn’t win the Venezuelan presidential election on Sunday. He lost in a landslide to Edmundo González, 67% to 30%. I know this to be true because I can prove it. I have receipts obtained directly from more than 80% of the nation’s polling stations." She called on the international community to support the Venezuelan people’s struggle for democracy, vowing, "We won’t rest until we are free."
Machado’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. In addition to the Nobel Peace Prize, she was named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2025 and was previously listed as one of BBC’s 100 Women in 2018. Her story, like the events in Southeast Asia, underscores the unpredictable but undeniable impact that international leadership—however controversial—can have in moments of crisis.
As the world watches these developments unfold, the question remains: will these diplomatic victories hold, or are they merely fleeting moments in the relentless churn of global politics? For now, at least, the promise of peace—however fragile—has offered hope in regions long plagued by conflict and uncertainty.
