Overview
- Holsey said he will retire on December 12, 2025, stepping down roughly a year after taking command of U.S. Southern Command.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly thanked Holsey without citing a cause, and the departure comes about two years earlier than a typical three‑year tour.
- CNN reported weeks of tensions that culminated in an October 6 Pentagon meeting where Holsey offered to resign, a characterization disputed by a Pentagon spokesman who denied Holsey had reservations about the mission.
- The U.S. military posture in the Caribbean has grown to include guided‑missile destroyers, F‑35s and about 6,500 troops, plus B‑52 flights and a newly declared CIA authorization to operate in Venezuela.
- U.S. forces have conducted multiple lethal strikes on suspected drug‑smuggling boats off Venezuela, including a fifth recent strike that killed six, with at least 27 deaths reported drawing legal and congressional scrutiny.