The U.S. military commander overseeing the Trump administration’s escalating fatal attacks against suspected drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea, Admiral Alvin Holsey, is stepping down, The New York Times reported today. Holsey was in charge of the U.S. Southern Command, overseeing operations in Central and South America.
[NOTE: Among the prominent Americans who have questioned the legality of the boat bombing attacks — situations where the U.S. military is essentially delivering death sentences without due process to alleged drug traffickers at sea — is U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY). Objecting to the idea the U.S. can lawfully kill people suspected of drug trafficking without a trial, Paul said: “the reason we have trials and we don’t automatically assume guilt is, what if we make a mistake?”]
U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the timing of Admiral Holsey’s departure, saying: “At a moment when U.S. forces are building up across the Caribbean and tensions with Venezuela are at a boiling point, the departure of our top military commander in the region sends an alarming signal of instability within the chain of command.”
Retired U.S. Navy Commander Phil Ehr, who served for 26 years and is now running as a Democrat in the 2026 Florida Congressional 28th District election against the pro-Trump incumbent Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez, also responded.
U.S. admiralty was born after the Civil War. A 4-star quitting mid-operation is a rupture of that order. Holsey’s exit amid lethal Caribbean strikes is a five-alarm warning: Trump & Hegseth are pushing unlawful orders and driving commanders out. The admirals’ revolt has begun. https://t.co/ZDlNpCespM
— Phil Ehr (@PhilEhr) October 16, 2025
Ehr wrote: “U.S. admiralty was born after the Civil War. A 4-star quitting mid-operation is a rupture of that order. Holsey’s exit amid lethal Caribbean strikes is a five-alarm warning: Trump & Hegseth are pushing unlawful orders and driving commanders out. The admirals’ revolt has begun.”
Ehr also criticized the recent retirement of two other senior officers including a Marine Colonel, both of whom Ehr says have “publicly resigned over a president’s contempt for the Constitution.”
In 250 years of U.S. history, only two other senior officers have publicly resigned over a president’s contempt for the Constitution.
This is a landmark moment, and a test of whether those who swore an oath to defend the Constitution still have the courage to honor it. pic.twitter.com/lyJbSpFQ9b
— Phil Ehr (@PhilEhr) October 17, 2025