Top Black US military commander steps down amid Trump’s deadly boat strikes in the Caribbean Sea

“The resignation of General Holsey is but another example of a senior leader pushed to the brink,” Richard Brookshire, co-founder and co-CEO of Black Veterans Project, told theGrio.

One of the U.S. military’s top commanders is stepping down after less than a year in his new post, announcing an early retirement from the force.

Admiral Alvin Holsey, who is Black, is a four-star commander who heads the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees all operations in Central and South America. The U.S. Navy admiral has been in service for 37 years.

Holsey did not specify why he is leaving the U.S. military; however, it comes amid reported concerns about the Trump administration’s latest mission in the Caribbean Sea. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered strikes on at least five boats off the coast of Venezuela that have killed at least 27 people. They claimed the boats were trafficking illicit drugs into the U.S. without providing evidence.

According to the New York Times, Admiral Holsey “raised concerns” about the mission, which has garnered bipartisan pushback against the Trump administration and the potential violation of U.S. law.

Though Trump declared the operation an “armed conflict” with drug cartels in the region, members of Congress point out that the president requires congressional approval for war powers. Some have also raised concerns about the strikes because the individuals on board were not afforded a legal process before their killings were ordered.

A family in Trinidad is demanding that Trump provide evidence to prove 26-year-old Chad Joseph, who was killed in a boat strike on Tuesday, was trafficking drugs.

“I’m feeling very hurt. You know why? Donald Trump took a father, a brother, an uncle, a nephew from families. Donald Trump don’t care what he is doing,” said Afisha Clement, Joseph’s cousin, told Reuters.

What’s more, while the Trump administration claims the boats were carrying fentanyl, most illicit fentanyl in the U.S. comes from Mexico, not Venezuela, according to PolitiFact.

Holsey’s early retirement marks yet another major departure among Black leaders in the U.S. military, as well as other minorities and women.

In February, Trump and Hegseth fired Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who is Black, from his powerful post as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Pentagon, the military’s headquarters, also eliminated diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, like prohibiting beards worn by Black servicemembers, as part of an agenda to remove what the Trump administration describes as a culture of “woke.” Critics say that by “woke,” the administration means anything that supports Black, brown, female, and LGBTQ servicemembers.

“There is a concerted effort to compromise the integrity and solemn oath of those who serve by skirting the lines of legality, military ethics and our constitution. The resignation of General Holsey is but another example of a senior leader pushed to the brink,” Richard Brookshire, co-founder and co-CEO of Black Veterans Project, told theGrio.

“We should all be deeply concerned by its implications. Trump’s War Department is a blight on the legacy of our nation’s military in what is fast becoming one of the darkest chapters in American history.”