Fact Check: Did Admiral Alvin Holsey resign over Pete Hegseth’s Venezuela boat strike orders?

WASHINGTON, DC: A rumor has been going around that Admiral Alvin Holsey resigned from leading US Southern Command because of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s controversial boat strike orders in Venezuelan waters.

The Trump administration and Pentagon have confirmed at least 21 strikes on suspected boats since September, according to Axios, leaving at least 82 people dead as of December 1.

Origin of the claim

SOUTHCOM had already announced back on October 16 that Holsey would retire on December 12, a date neatly circled on the calendar long before the rumor mill started turning.

Despite the official announcement, the claims of Holsey's supposed retirement made waves online. One X user declared, “Unlike Admiral Bradley, Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey resigned and refused to go along with Pete Hegseth's illegal orders. RETWEET to thank Admiral Holsey for standing up for the Constitution!”

Adm. Frank Bradley found himself in the spotlight after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed he authorized a “double tap” strike on September 2. That follow-up strike killed two survivors from the initial hit on a suspected Venezuelan boat. However, it instantly became Exhibit A in the debate over the legality of the strike.

The Holsey rumor eventually made the rounds across Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and Reddit.

CNN and The New York Times cited unnamed officials who said Holsey had “raised concerns” internally and even offered to resign at an October 6 meeting with Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine. According to CNN, that meeting came after “weeks” of tension over the boat strikes. Holsey announced his retirement 10 days later.

Fact Check: Unfounded

But in his official statement on SOUTHCOM’s X feed, Holsey simply said it had been “an honor to serve our nation."

Snopes was unable to independently verify any of the anonymously sourced claims and left the rumor unrated. SOUTHCOM’s Tech Sgt Paul E Cook chimed in to say they had “nothing further to add to ADM Holsey's statement.”

Thus, there’s no verified proof that Adm Alvin Holsey resigned because of any clash with Hegseth over Venezuela boat strike orders. Hegseth's own statement didn’t touch on motivations for the resignation either. Both versions simply noted Holsey would retire by the end of this year.

Holsey had taken command of SOUTHCOM on November 7, 2024, from Army Gen Laura J Richardson. At the time of his planned departure, he would have held the post for just over a year.

CNN reported on October 17 that Hegseth believed Holsey wasn’t moving “quickly or aggressively enough” against Caribbean traffickers. Their sources said SOUTHCOM had been worried about the lawfulness of the boat strikes.

The Pentagon, however, slammed the coverage. Chief spokesperson Sean Parnell called a New York Times report that Holsey had “raised concerns” over the strikes “Fake News.”

“This is a total lie. Never happened. There was no hesitation or concerns about this mission,” Parnell declared, to which the Times responded, "We are confident in our reporting.”

Legal fog around the strikes

Meanwhile, legal experts quoted by Reuters and the AP weren’t tiptoeing around the issue.

Some suggested the September 2 “double tap” could qualify as a war crime. Others questioned the legality of the broader operation altogether. Investigations also raised doubts about whether all the people killed were truly “narco-terrorists” or cartel leaders, as the administration claimed.

Despite the scrutiny, the strikes aren’t slowing down anytime soon. On November 13, Hegseth launched Operation Southern Spear, a joint effort between Joint Task Force Southern Spear and SOUTHCOM meant to remove “narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere.”

With Holsey stepping aside, Air Force Lt Gen Evan L Pettus was already in line to take the reins on December 12.