Did Adm. Alvin Holsey resign over Hegseth’s Venezuela boat strike orders? What we know

In December 2025, a claim (archived) circulated online that Admiral Alvin Holsey resigned as the head of the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) because of Pete Hegseth’s Venezuelan boat strike orders.

Since September 2025, the Trump administration and the Pentagon have announced at least 21 strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats from Venezuela and the surrounding area, Axios reported, killing at least 82 people as of Dec. 1, 2025.

SOUTHCOM, the unified combatant command that covers Central and South America and the Caribbean, announced (archived) on Oct. 16, 2025, that Holsey, the force’s commander, would retire on Dec. 12. 

As the date neared, the claim about the reason for Holsey’s resignation swirled online. One X user wrote, “Unlike Admiral Bradley, Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey resigned and refused to go along with Pete Hegseth’s illegal orders. RETWEET to thank Admiral Holsey for standing up for the Constitution!”

(X user @DisavowTrump20)

Adm. Frank Bradley, named in the X post above, became the focus of online criticism after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed he ordered a “double tap” strike on a suspected Venezuelan drug boat on Sept. 2, 2025, that killed two survivors from an initial strike.

The claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived), Bluesky (archived) and Reddit (archived). Snopes readers wrote in, asking whether the claim was true.

Claims about Holsey’s resignation appeared to stem from reporting by outlets such as The New York Times and CNN that cited unnamed U.S. officials who said Holsey had “raised concerns” about the attacks on the alleged drug boats. According to CNN’s report, Holsey offered to resign during a meeting with Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine on Oct. 6, after “weeks” of tension over the strikes. Holsey announced he would retire from the Navy 10 days after the reported meeting. 

In a statement published on SOUTHCOM’s X account, Holsey said it had been “an honor to serve our nation” but gave no reason for the resignation.

Snopes does not rely on anonymous sources and could not independently verify reports that claimed Holsey resigned due to tension over Hegseth’s Venezuela boat strike orders. Therefore, we leave this claim unrated.

Tech. Sgt. Paul E. Cook told Snopes over email that SOUTHCOM had “nothing further to add to ADM Holsey’s statement.”

Pentagon called reports ‘Fake News’

Neither Holsey’s nor Hegseth’s (archived) statements on the resignation gave a specific reason for the admiral’s departure. According to both statements, Holsey would retire by the end of 2025.

Holsey assumed command of SOUTHCOM on Nov. 7, 2024, from Army Gen. Laura J. Richardson. Richardson led SOUTHCOM for a little more than three years, starting in October 2021, according to the Department of Defense. At the time of his planned departure on Dec. 12, 2025, Holsey will have led SOUTHCOM for just over one year.

According to an Oct. 17, 2025, CNN report citing “two sources familiar with the matter,” Hegseth reportedly did not believe Holsey “was moving quickly or aggressively enough to combat drug traffickers in the Caribbean.” CNN’s sources reportedly said SOUTHCOM “was concerned” about whether the operations to strike suspected drug boats were lawful. 

That same day, Sean Parnell, chief spokesperson at the Pentagon, called (archived) a New York Times report that Holsey “raised concerns” about the boat strikes “Fake News.” 

Parnell wrote, “This is a total lie. Never happened. There was no hesitation or concerns about this mission.” The Times’ official communications account replied (archived), “We are confident in our reporting.”

Parnell did not directly comment on the CNN report.

Legality of strikes

According to legal experts who spoke to Reuters and The Associated Press, the Sept. 2, 2025, “double tap” strike could amount to a war crime. Other experts have questioned the general legality of the strikes. Some reporting has cast doubt on the Trump administration’s claim that the people killed in the strikes were all “narco-terrorists” or cartel leaders.

At the time of this writing, the strikes appeared likely to continue. Hegseth announced (archived) Operation Southern Spear on Nov. 13, a joint mission by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and SOUTHCOM to remove “narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere.”

Air Force Lt. Gen. Evan L. Pettus was due to assume command of SOUTHCOM on Dec. 12.

Sources

“Adm. Holsey Takes Command of SOUTHCOM.” U.S. Southern Command, 7 Nov. 2024, https://www.southcom.mil/MEDIA/NEWS-ARTICLES/Article/3960277/adm-holsey-takes-command-of-southcom/.

Britzky, Haley, et al. “Commander Overseeing US Forces in the Caribbean to Retire One Year into Tenure | CNN Politics.” CNN, 16 Oct. 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/politics/southern-command-caribbean-strikes-holsey.

CANO, REGINA GARCIA. “Trump Has Accused Boat Crews of Being Narco-Terrorists. The Truth, AP Found, Is More Nuanced.” AP News, 7 Nov. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-boat-strikes-drugs-cocaine-trafficking-95b54a3a5efec74f12f82396a79617ea.

FINLEY, BEN, and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN. “Experts Explain What the Law Says about Killing Survivors of a Boat Strike.” AP News, 1 Dec. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/boat-strikes-survivors-hegseth-72b0a498ca08615b2589c772a1d9e642.

Holland, Steve, and Jeff Mason. “White House Defends US Attack on Boat from Venezuela as Lawful.” Reuters, 2 Dec. 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/white-house-admiral-approved-second-strike-boat-venezuela-was-well-within-legal-2025-12-01/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt%20would%20be%20murder%20outside%20of%20armed%20conflict%2C%E2%80%9D%20she%20said.%20Even%20in%20war%2C%20the%20killing%20of%20survivors%20%E2%80%9Cwould%20likely%20be%20a%20war%20crime.%E2%80%9D.

Murphy, Matt, and Joshua Cheetham. “US Strikes on ‘Venezuela Drug Boats’: Are They Legal?” BBC News, 3 Sept. 2025, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdjzw3gplv7o.

Olay, Matthew. “Senate Holds Nomination Hearing for Southcom Commander, Guard Bureau Chief.” DOD News, 12 Sept. 2024, https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3904340/senate-holds-nomination-hearing-for-southcom-commander-guard-bureau-chief/#:~:text=If%20Holsey%20is%20confirmed%20as%20Southcom%27s%20next%20commander%2C%20he%20would%20succeed%20Army%20Gen.%20Laura%20J.%20Richardson%2C%20who%20has%20led%20that%20combatant%20command%20since%20October%202021.%20%C2%A0.

Schmitt, Eric, and Tyler Pager. “Head of the U.S. Military’s Southern Command Is Stepping Down, Officials Say.” The New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025, https://archive.ph/gAWSd.

Scribner, Herb. “Here Are All of Hegseth’s Boat Strikes near Venezuela That We Know About.” Axios, 1 Dec. 2025, https://www.axios.com/2025/12/01/hegseth-trump-military-boat-strikes-drug-venezuela.

“SOUTHCOM to Host Relinquishment-of-Command Dec. 12.” U.S. Southern Command, 1 Dec. 2025, https://www.southcom.mil/News/PressReleases/Article/4345336/southcom-to-host-relinquishment-of-command-dec-12/.

“US Authorised Second Deadly Venezuela Boat Strike, White House Says.” BBC News, 1 Dec. 2025, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0r95q9kv1go.