In a photo from the US army, admiral Alvin Holsey, left, commander of the US Southern Command, visits Naval Base Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Photograph: US army via The New York Times
The military commander overseeing the Pentagon’s escalating attacks against boats in the Caribbean Sea that the Trump administration says are smuggling drugs said Thursday that he was stepping down.
The officer, admiral Alvin Holsey, is leaving his job as head of the US southern command, which oversees all operations in Central and South America, even as the Pentagon has rapidly built up some 10,000 forces in the region in what it says is a major counterdrug and counterterrorism mission.
It was unclear why the admiral is suddenly departing, less than a year into what is typically a three-year job, and in the midst of the biggest operation in his 37-year career. But one current and one former US official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said that admiral Holsey had raised concerns about
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