On Friday, Trump nominated Lieutenant General Frank Donovan, the current vice commander of US Special Operations Command, to head US Southern Command following the Dec. 12 retirement of Adm. Alvin Holsey. Three U.S. officials and two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Holsey was pushed out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The New York Times reports that unnamed defense officials said Holsey had concerns about the administration’s decision to target and kill people it accused of “narco-trafficking” in a series of boat strikes in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific since Sept. 2.
As for Donovan, he’s spent most of his career in special operations, in Marine special operations or in joint special operations, including a stint in Joint Special Operations Command. Reuters speculates that Donovan’s background in special operations suggests the Pentagon’s increased focus on potential covert missions in Latin America and follows Trump’s pick of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who also hails from the special operations community.