WASHINGTON (Realist English). The head of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Admiral Alvin Holsey, will retire at the end of 2025 after just one year in the post, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Thursday on X. The move follows weeks of internal friction over the legality and scope of U.S. military operations in the Caribbean.
Holsey’s departure comes days after the fifth known U.S. strike on a vessel allegedly trafficking drugs off Venezuela’s coast, which killed six people. It also follows President Donald Trump’s confirmation that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela to curb drug trafficking and migration flows. On the same day, U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers conducted a four-hour flight along the Venezuelan coast, according to CNN.
Disagreements over operations and legality
Two sources familiar with the matter told CNN that tensions between Hegseth and Holsey had been escalating for weeks. Hegseth reportedly believed Holsey was not acting aggressively enough against drug traffickers in the region and was withholding key operational information. SOUTHCOM officials, however, were reportedly concerned about the legal basis of the strikes.
The dispute came to a head during an October 6 meeting at the Pentagon between Hegseth, Holsey, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine. Holsey offered to resign during the meeting, one source said, but the decision was postponed and only announced this week.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell later denied that Holsey had questioned the legality of the missions, calling such claims “false.”
A decorated 37-year career
Holsey confirmed his retirement in a statement on X, writing that he would step down on December 12, 2025, after 37 years of service in the U.S. Navy.
“Serving as your commander and deputy for the past 34 months has been a tremendous honor,” he wrote. “The SOUTHCOM team has made lasting contributions to the defense of our nation and will continue to do so.”
Holsey, a career naval aviator and graduate of the Naval ROTC program, previously led the Navy’s Carrier Strike Group One and served as an operations officer on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He took command of SOUTHCOM in November 2024, succeeding Army Gen. Laura Richardson, who retired earlier this year.
Hegseth’s broader shake-up
Since assuming office, Hegseth has overhauled the Pentagon’s senior leadership, dismissing several top officers, including former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, and Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
“On behalf of the Department of War, we extend our deepest gratitude to Admiral Alvin Holsey for his more than 37 years of distinguished service to our nation,” Hegseth wrote.
Holsey’s exit leaves open a key command overseeing U.S. operations across Latin America and the Caribbean, an area now central to Washington’s expanding counter-narcotics and intelligence campaign — one that critics say increasingly blurs the line between law enforcement and covert warfare.
