United States Government

Under President Trump, the U.S. has reframed Nigeria’s complex insecurity largely through a religious‑freedom lens, driving a policy mix that includes a ‘country of particular concern’ designation, threatened aid cuts, potential sanctions and hints of military action. - Shifted from threats to joint military strikes with Nigeria alongside visa restrictions and sanctions threats

Since March 2025, jihadist attacks, mass kidnappings, and farmer-herder violence across northern and central Nigeria have persisted, with over 160 killed in a February 4, 2026, jihadist massacre in Kwara State alone. Key incidents include a US-Nigeria joint airstrike on December 25, 2025, targeting Islamic State militants, multiple Boko Haram and ISWAP attacks killing dozens of soldiers in January 2026, and partial rescues of hostages amid unabated banditry.

Updated Feb 6

The U.S. government, under President Trump, is the chief external broker of the DRC–Rwanda peace framework and a major prospective investor in Congolese minerals. - Pushes sanctions on Rwanda, observes Doha talks; minerals deal challenged in DRC court.

In early 2025, a massive offensive by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebellion and its allies seized Goma and Bukavu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, displacing millions and triggering urgent diplomacy. The United States mediated the June 27 Washington Accord between Kinshasa and Kigali, ratified by Presidents Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame with Donald Trump on December 4, 2025, at the Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace. The deal promises Rwandan troop withdrawals, an end to Congolese support for anti-Rwanda militias, and a U.S.-linked economic framework centered on critical minerals.

Updated Feb 5

The U.S. government designed and is now driving implementation of a multi-phase plan to end the Gaza war, demilitarise the enclave, and install a transitional international administration with heavy American influence. - Primary architect and guarantor of the Gaza ceasefire, Board of Peace and International Stabilization Force

After more than two years of devastating war triggered by Hamas's attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that began on October 10, 2025 has paused large-scale hostilities in Gaza but remains deeply fragile, with at least 460 Palestinians killed and over 1,200 injured since the truce took effect. On January 14, 2026, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff announced the launch of phase two of the President's 20‑point peace plan, establishing a 15‑member Palestinian technocratic committee led by Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority deputy minister, to assume day-to-day governance of Gaza. Nickolay Mladenov, former UN Middle East envoy, was appointed director-general of the Board of Peace, the international transitional authority mandated by the UN Security Council to oversee Gaza's demilitarization, reconstruction and political transition. On January 21, the Board announced a concrete 3-5 month timeline for disarmament, with Hamas expected to receive an ultimatum demanding surrender of all weapons. Hamas announced on January 12 that it will dissolve its government once the new Palestinian body takes over, calling the decision 'clear and final,' but has refused to surrender its small arms, stating it will only fully disarm once a Palestinian state is established.

Updated Jan 26

The U.S. government under President Donald Trump is attempting to broker a comprehensive settlement to the Russo‑Ukrainian war through direct talks with both Moscow and Kyiv. - Primary mediator shifting from controversial 28-point plan to revised 20-point framework with concrete security guarantees

By late December 2025, months of intensive U.S.–Ukraine–Russia shuttle diplomacy produced a breakthrough: the controversial 28‑point plan that had alarmed Kyiv and European allies was replaced by a revised 20‑point framework that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was "90 percent agreed" with Washington, including "100 percent" consensus on U.S.–Ukraine security guarantees. The new framework—hammered out through parallel Miami sessions with Ukrainian officials led by Rustem Umerov and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, then refined in a December 28 Mar‑a‑Lago summit between Trump and Zelenskyy—offers Ukraine NATO Article 5‑style security guarantees for at least 15 years, maintains Ukraine's 800,000‑strong military, and envisions a demilitarized zone along current battle lines in Donetsk overseen by international monitors. On January 8, 2026, Zelenskyy announced that the bilateral U.S.–Ukraine security guarantee document is now "essentially ready" to be finalized at the highest level with President Trump.

Updated Jan 11

The U.S. government plays a crucial external role in this story arc through automotive tariffs affecting European imports and incentives that shape investment decisions on potential U.S. plants. - Imposes elevated tariffs on European car imports, pressuring VW and Porsche

Volkswagen Group has cut its long-term investment plan to €160 billion through 2030 from previous rolling plans of €165 billion (2025–2029) and €180 billion (2024–2028), still one of the largest capital programs in global manufacturing. CEO Oliver Blume framed the move as belt-tightening in response to higher U.S. tariffs on European car imports and intense price competition in China that have eroded margins, especially at Porsche, prompting a partial retreat from its most ambitious electric-vehicle targets.

Updated Jan 4

The U.S. government has played an unusually direct role in brokering ceasefires between Thailand and Cambodia, conditioning trade negotiations on an end to fighting. - External broker linking ceasefire to trade talks

In 2025, a long-simmering territorial dispute along the 817 km Thailand–Cambodia border reignited into the region’s most serious interstate conflict in years. A fatal clash on May 28 that killed a Cambodian soldier in a disputed area near Preah Vihear was followed by landmine incidents and escalating skirmishes, culminating in a five-day war in July that killed at least 48 people and displaced about 300,000 civilians before a ceasefire was brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim mediating under ASEAN’s umbrella.

Updated Dec 11, 2025