Is the top US commander in Latin America resigning under pressure from Hegseth over the Venezuela issue?

Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey, who is in charge of US military forces in Latin America, is set to resign on Friday morning local time. He is stepping down from his post two years early.

The announcement of Holsey's resignation comes at a time when tensions between the United States and the Latin American country of Venezuela have increased. Last Wednesday, US forces seized a Venezuelan oil tanker and carried out more than 20 raids on several ships in the country on suspicion of drug trafficking.

Three US officials and two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Admiral Alvin Holsey was forced to resign due to pressure from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

According to the two officials, the United States has recently sought to show strength in military operations and plans in the Caribbean region. Hegseth expressed frustration with the performance of Southern Command at this time.

An official confirmed that Hegseth began discussing the dismissal of Holsey about two weeks ago.

Holsey did not explain why he announced his early retirement. Some officials believe he opposed the raid on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean.

But in a closed-door meeting with senior lawmakers on Tuesday, Holsey insisted that his decision had nothing to do with the command's operations, Republican lawmaker Mike Rogers told Politico.

Holsey is set to hand over command duties to his deputy, Air Force Lt. Gen. Evan Pettus, at a ceremony Friday morning. Pettus will serve as the acting head of U.S. Southern Command.

US helped him leave Venezuela: Machado

President Donald Trump is likely to nominate Lt. Gen. Frank Donovan, vice commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, to succeed Holsey, a source familiar with the matter said. However, the nomination has not yet been formally finalised and could change, the source said.

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