Admiral Alvin Holsey stepped down from US Southern Command amid reports he questioned the legality and purpose of Trump’s deadly anti-drug operations.
Admiral Alvin Holsey, Commander of the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), has stepped down after reportedly expressing unease over a series of deadly maritime strikes ordered by President Donald Trump against vessels the administration claims were smuggling drugs from Venezuela.
Holsey’s sudden retirement was confirmed Thursday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who praised the admiral’s 37 years of service and said he plans to retire on December 12, 2025. The announcement comes less than a year after Holsey assumed command of U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
According to The New York Times, Holsey had raised internal concerns about the legal and operational basis of the missions, which have killed at least 27 people since early September. The report cited an unnamed U.S. official who said Holsey questioned both the intelligence behind the strikes and their alignment with international law.
Over the past six weeks, U.S. Special Operations forces have targeted at least five boats off Venezuela’s coast in the Caribbean Sea. The most recent strike, announced by Trump on Truth Social, killed six men the President described as “Male Narcoterrorists.” Trump said the operation occurred in international waters and praised U.S. forces for executing it without casualties.
“Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America,” Trump warned after the first strike on September 2, 2025, which he said killed 11 suspects.
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The White House has justified the operations under a memo to Congress declaring that the U.S. “is in a Non-International Armed Conflict with designated terrorist organizations.” This designation, authorizes the Pentagon to “conduct operations pursuant to the law of armed conflict.”
However, critics—including some lawmakers—say the administration has failed to provide evidence that the targeted vessels were carrying narcotics. A Senate attempt to block the strikes through a War Powers Resolution narrowly failed last week by a 51–48 vote.
Venezuelan officials have condemned the attacks as illegal and baseless. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López claimed Washington “knows the boats are not being used for drug trafficking.”
In his farewell message, Holsey wrote: “Serving as your commander and deputy for the past 34 months has been a tremendous honor. I am confident the SOUTHCOM team will continue to defend our nation and remain a beacon of freedom around the globe.”
