U.S. Admiral Alvin Holseystepping down after he "raised concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats"
Adm Holsey is stepping down after he "raised concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats"
"The military commander overseeing the Pentagon’s escalating attacks against boats in the Caribbean Sea that the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs is stepping down, three U.S. officials said on Thursday.
The officer, Adm. Alvin Holsey, is leaving his job as head of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees all operations in Central and South America, even as the Pentagon has rapidly built up some 10,000 forces in the region in what it says is a major counterdrug and counterterrorism mission.
It was unclear why Admiral Holsey is leaving now, less than a year into his tenure, and in the midst of the biggest operation in his 37-year career. But one of the U.S. officials, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said that Admiral Holsey had raised concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats.
In a statement on social media, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made no mention of any friction with his four-star commander. “On behalf of the Department of War,” said Mr. Hegseth, using the name of the department he now prefers, “we extend our deepest gratitude to Admiral Alvin Holsey for his more than 37 years of distinguished service to our nation as he plans to retire at year’s end.”
But other officials at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill said the praise masked real policy tensions concerning Venezuela that the admiral and his civilian boss were seeking to paper over.
Since early September, U.S. Special Operations forces have struck at least five boats off the Venezuelan coast that the White House says were transporting drugs, killing 27 people. American officials have privately made it clear that the main goal is to drive Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, from power.
But a range of specialists in the laws governing the use of force have disputed the Trump administration’s claim that it can lawfully kill people suspected of drug trafficking like enemy troops instead of arresting them for prosecution. As a matter of domestic law, Congress has not authorized any armed conflict.
As a matter of international law, for a nonstate group to qualify as a belligerent in an armed conflict — meaning its members can be targeted for killing based on their status alone, not because of anything they specifically do — it must be an “organized armed group” with a centralized command structure, and engaging in hostilities.
Admiral Holsey, who is Black, becomes the latest in a line of more than a dozen military leaders, many of them people of color and women, who have left their jobs this year. Most have been fired by Mr. Hegseth or pushed out.
Mr. Hegseth fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who is Black; the first woman to command the Navy, Adm. Lisa Franchetti; and the U.S. military’s representative to the NATO military committee, Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield. He also pushed out Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Kruse, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Others have not fit into the mold of what Mr. Hegseth considers a leader in his Pentagon. In August, the Air Force’s top uniformed officer, Gen. David Allvin, announced that he would retire early — two years into a four-year term.
About two weeks ago, Mr. Hegseth summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to meeting at Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. It was a gathering without precedent in recent memory. The secretary told the senior officers that he was tightening standards for fitness and grooming, cracking down even more rigorously on “woke garbage” and rejecting the notion of “toxic” leadership.
It was not clear on Thursday who would replace Admiral Holsey, who just this week visited the islands of Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada.
In today's report from the Russian Federation of the continuation of the special military operation, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had losses of 2,125 soldiers.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
▫️In Liptsy and Volchansk directions, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on units of the AFU 57th Motorised Infantry Brigade, 92nd Assault Brigade, and 36th Marine Brigade near Glubokoye, Lipsy, and Volchansk (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 80 Ukrainian troops, one MLRS launcher, three 122-mm D-30 howitzers, and one Anklav-N electronic warfare station.
▫️Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 44th, 67th, 115th mechanised brigades, 3rd Assault Brigade, 103rd, 110th territorial defence brigades, and 1st National Guard Brigade near Tabayevka (Kharkov region), Stelmakhovka, Rozovka, Nadiya, Nevskoye (Lugansk People's Republic), Torskoye (Donetsk People's...
Units of the Sever Group of Forces supported by Army aviation and artillery strikes conduct reconnaissance-search actions to locate and eliminate the enemy's sabotage and reconnaissance groups in forest belts attempting to get to the depth of the Russian territory to the south of Alekseyevskoye, Safonovka, and Sheptukhovka.
▫️Attacks launched by assault detachments of the AFU 22nd, 61st, and 115th mechanised brigades, and 82nd Air Assault Brigade toward Komarovka, Olgovka, Russkoye, and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye were repelled. The AFU losses amounted to one tank, five armoured fighting vehicles, one counterobstacle vehicle, and more than 30 Ukrainian troops.
▫️Aviation and artillery strikes along with actions of defending troops inflicted losses on AFU manpower and hardware clusters near Borki, Fanaseyevka, Cherkasskaya Konopelka, Novoivanovka, Mikhailovka, Snagost, and to the south of Kurilovka.
▫️One U.S.-made M270 MLRS launcher was destroyed by a missile strike near Bezdrik (Sumy ...
The banner of the unit was captured in battle by the Rifle Battalion of the 1st Guards Slavic Brigade.
Also, the Storm unit of the 1st Slavyanskaya captured the next object “Cheburashka”, and the 2nd battalion captured the next dacha area (in front of the Khimik microdistrict).
In addition, Russian fighters today cut the road from Lastochkino to Avdeevsky coke plant.
In accordance with the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, all the Groups of Forces deployed in the special military operation zone have been strictly observing the state of ceasefire from 16:00 of 11 April to 00:00 of 12 April remaining in previously taken positions.
▫️ Despite the announced Easter ceasefire, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continued to strike by unmanned aerial vehicles and conduct artillery fire against the positions of Russian troops as well as civilian facilities in the border areas of Belgorod and Kursk regions and the Republic of Crimea.
▫️ In total, there were 6,558 ceasefire violations.
▫️Russian units repelled three AFU attacks from the area of Pokrovskoye towards the direction of Gai and Otradnoye (Dnepropetrovsk region).
▫️ Five enemy attempts to advance towards positions of Russian troops near Kondratovka, Novaya Sech (two times), Varachino in Sumy region, and Kaleniki (Donetsk People's Republic) have also been thwarted.
▫️ An adversary unmanned ...
In accordance with the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, all the Groups of Forces deployed in the special military operation zone have been strictly observing the state of ceasefire since 16:00 of 11 April remaining in previously taken positions.
▫️ At night, despite the announcement of the regime of the Easter ceasefire, formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine three times attacked positions of the Russian troops from the area of Pokrovskoye in the direction of Gay (twice) and Otradnoye in Dnepropetrovsk region. All attacks have been repelled.
▫️ In addition, four enemy attempts to advance to the positions of Russian troops near Kondratovka, Novaya Sech (twice) in Sumy region, and Kaleniki in the Donetsk People's Republic have been thwarted.
▫️ In total, 1,971 violations of the AFU ceasefire regime were recorded between 16:00 of 11 April and 8:00 of 12 April.
▫️ Ukrainian units launched two fixed-wing UAVs on the territory of Kursk and Belgorod regions. As a ...
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
The Sever Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Strikes were delivered at manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades of the AFU and a territorial defence brigade close to Miropolye, Novodmitrovka, and Khoten (Sumy region).
In Kharkov region, units of two mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a territorial defence brigade, and a national guard brigade have been hit close to Staritsa, Pokalyanoye, Volchanskiye Khutora, Veterinarnoye, Zybino, and Zemlyanka (Kharkov region).
▪️The enemy lost more than 180 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, nine motor vehicles, and four electronic warfare stations. One ammunition and two materiel depots were eliminated.
The Zapad Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line. Strikes were delivered at formations of two mechanised brigades, an assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a territorial defence brigade near Chervony Oskol, Shiykovka, ...
