The abrupt retirement of the four-star Navy admiral overseeing the U.S. military’s strikes against boats in the Caribbean is raising alarms as to the validity of the attacks and the Trump administration's broader plans in the region.

In a surprise move, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced that U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) head Adm. Alvin Holsey would step down at the end of the year, two years ahead of schedule. Southcom oversees all operations in Central and South America, and multiple outlets have reported that Holsey and Hegseth were at odds over the U.S. mission in the Caribbean.

Holsey’s unexpected departure, set for Dec. 12, means Southcom is without its top military commander at a time when the Trump administration is building up U.S. forces in the Caribbean and increasingly targeting vessels off the Venezuelan coast it says are transporting drugs — most recently on Thursday — escalating a standoff with the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

“Everything we're seeing is setting off alarm bells,” said Brian Finucane, a national security lawyer with the International Crisis Group, an organization focused on conflict resolution. “The military buildup in the Caribbean, these lawless strikes on vessels there ... the administration talking about potential action in Venezuela. None of this is being undertaken with congressional authorization.”

Holsey’s retirement announcement comes as the Trump administration has steadily escalated its actions and rhetoric toward the Venezuelan government,

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