In a Dec. 4 article, “Hegseth Asked Top Admiral To Resign After Months of Discord,”, the Wall Street Journal reported: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shocked official Washington in mid-October when he announced that the four-star head of U.S. military operations in the Caribbean was retiring less than a year into his tenure.” The Journal continued: “But according to two Pentagon officials, Hegseth asked Adm. Alvin Holsey to step down, a de facto ouster that was the culmination of months of discord between Hegseth and the officer.” The primary reason for the firing was that “Holsey had initial concerns about the legality of lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, according to former officials aware of the discussions.”
EIR News first reported Admiral Holsey being forced out, in an Oct. 25 article, “U.S. Escalating Against Venezuela,” citing an article that appeared in The Atlantic magazine. The Wall Street Journal adds additional background to the fight.
The first United States military strike against an alleged drug boat from Venezuela occurred on Sept. 2, 2025. By early October, the conflict, apparently centering on the Trump administration policy of military strikes against alleged drug boats, without due process, reached a boiling point. The Journal reports: “Tensions between Holsey and Hegseth led to a confrontation at the Pentagon in early October. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs [of Staff], was also at the meeting.”
Admiral Holsey served in the U.S. military for over 37 years, and had experience with and advocated for dismantling organized drug operations. At his Senate confirmation hearing in September 2024, he stated, “My first deployment to the Southcom [Southern Command] area of responsibility was over 33 years ago conducting counterdrug missions.”
In addition to Holsey, Col. Paul Meagher, the top lawyer of the Southern Command serving as the Senior Staff Judge Advocate (JAG), “was initially concerned about the ramifications for U.S. service members, because targeting the alleged drug boats stretched the boundaries of the legal definition of engaging in military hostilities, according to a third U.S. official and a former senior U.S. official,” the Journal reported. In fact, NBC News, in a Nov. 19 article, “Top Military Lawyer Raised Legal Concerns About Boat Strikes,” reported: “The senior military lawyer for the combatant command overseeing lethal strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela disagreed with the Trump administration’s position that the operations are lawful.”
Thus both the Southern Command’s top military officer and its top JAG raised legal questions and apparently disagreed with the Pentagon’s “Operation Southern Spear” in the Caribbean. Publicly, Holsey has maintained support of the operation. His final day in uniform will be on Dec. 12.
