Admiral Alvin Holsey, chief of the US Southern Command. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images.
Admiral Alvin Holsey, head of the US Southern Command, resigned amid the unprecedented US military deployment in the southern Caribbean targeting Venezuela.
“It’s been an honor to serve our nation, the American people and support and defend the Constitution for 37 years. Effective, 12 December 2025 I will retire from the US Navy,” Holsey said in a statement released by US Southern Command on Thursday, October 16.
Holsey, the first African American to lead the Southern Command, took office on November 8, 2024. Thus, he is departing within a year into what is typically a three-year job. Moreover, he is stepping down during the most significant operation of his 37-year career, when the Trump administration has carried out a series of strikes against small boats in the Caribbean that it claims were carrying drugs from Venezuela to the US.
In a message on social media, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated, “Admiral Holsey has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the mission, the people, and the nation,” adding that the admiral’s tenure at the helm of Southern Command “reflects a legacy of operational excellence and strategic vision.”
At the moment, the reason for Holsey’s departure has not been specified, nor has a replacement been named. Just before announcing his retirement, Holsey had visited Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada, two “key partners in the Caribbean.”
According to New York Times, one current and one former US official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Holsey had raised concerns about the operation against Venezuela and the attacks on the alleged drug boats.
Since early September, US Special Operations forces have drowned five boats in the international waters of the Caribbean off the coasts of Venezuela, reportedly killing 27 people, including Venezuelans, Colombians, and Trinidadians. Although the US government claims that the boats were transporting drugs, it has not provided any evidence, nor any information about the individuals killed in the attacks. The governments of Venezuela and Colombia have termed the incidents “extrajudicial killings,” while the Venezuelan government maintains that the military buildup is aimed at overthrowing the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.
According to legal experts, the United States has violated multiple conventions of international law and international humanitarian law, including the right to life, by carrying out these extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean international waters. As for US domestic law, the US Congress has not authorized any armed conflict, which makes the Trump administration’s actions in the Caribbean illegal even within the US own legal framework.
(RT) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
