Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked a top U.S. Navy admiral to step down after the military chief expressed concern about the “murky” legality of the lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, according to a report.
The shock departure of Admiral Alvin Holsey one year into his tenure as head of U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the Caribbean, was announced by Hegseth on Oct.16.
It followed “months of discord” between the pair that intensified in the summer when the Trump administration began bombing the alleged drug boats, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing two Pentagon officials and former officials.
“You’re either on the team or you’re not,” Hegseth reportedly told 60-year-old Holsey during a meeting this year. “When you get an order, you move out fast and don’t ask questions.”
Lawmakers and experts told the newspaper that asking the four-star military chief to stand aside during an escalating military operation was “an extraordinary move.”
The Independent has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
It comes as Hegseth has been accused of “war crimes” over his handling of the deadly strikes, which have so far killed more than 80 people, as tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela intensify.
The alleged tension between Hegseth and Holsey has been previously reported, which Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell dismissed as “fake news” at the time.
“This is a total lie. Never happened. There was no hesitation or concerns about this mission,” Parnell said in a post on X.
Holsey was reportedly concerned about the legality of the Caribbean operation and objected that parts of the mission “fell outside of his direct control,” as other military units involved fell under separate chains of command.
Hegseth reportedly grew frustrated that Holsey was not moving quickly enough to tackle the drug traffickers in the Caribbean, CNN previously reported.
According to the WSJ, Hegseth had lost confidence in Holsey before the Trump administration’s strikes on the vessels began.
In early October, the tension came to a head during a “confrontation” at the Pentagon, according to the WSJ, citing former officials.
Holsey has not publicly revealed why he is stepping down, but said he would retire on December 12 in a statement on X.
Todd Robinson, former assistant secretary for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, said the move was “shocking.”
“Having [Holsey] leave at this particular moment, at the height of what the Pentagon considers to be the central action in our hemisphere, is just shocking,” Robinson told the WSJ.
Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, also expressed his shock at Holsey’s departure last month.
“Never before in my over 20 years on the committee can I recall seeing a combatant commander leave their post this early and amid such turmoil,” Smith said in a post on X.
The former Fox News host has become engulfed in more controversy this week after The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon chief gave the order to “kill everybody” during the first Venezuelan boat strike in September.
Bipartisan groups of lawmakers announced they are launching investigations of the follow-up strike and the Caribbean operation.
Hegseth, a military veteran, vehemently denied the claims and dismissed them as “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory” in a social media post.
Separately, Hegseth has also been doing damage control after a classified report, conducted by the Inspector General, found that he risked endangering U.S. troops by sharing highly-sensitive information about military operations on a Signal group chat earlier this year.
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