According to Reuters, U.S. Secretary of Defense Hector Hertz announced that the Southern Command commander of the U.S. forces in Latin America, Navy Chief Holsey, will resign at the end of this year, two years earlier than the previously scheduled term, but did not specify the specific reasons. This is unexpected and at the time of the escalating tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. The day before, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the U.S. side was determined to consider ground operations on drug trafficking groups and confirmed that it had authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela.

According to Reuters, Holsey said on social media platform X that he would retire on December 12, but did not specify why. He wrote: "I am deeply honored to have been able to serve the nation and the American people for 37 years and to support and defend the Constitution."Hergersh said on the X-Platform that he did not mention the reason for Holsey's resignation, but said: "The Defense Ministry thanked the Holsey Navy for its contributions to the country for decades."

Horsey is one of two black four-star officers currently commanding the U.S. Combat Command. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that a few days before the announcement, Horsey and Hagerseth had differences over military action in the Caribbean, and it was also reported that he might be fired. Horsey is the latest of several senior military officers to leave office since Hagerseth took charge of the U.S. Department of Defense. Some of them were abruptly dismissed, including Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to serve as the top general in the U.S. Navy.

Jack Reid, a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, said Horsey's unexpected resignation was "disturbing" in view of growing concerns about possible conflicts between the U.S. and Venezuela. "Horsey's departure has further deepened my concerns that this administration is ignoring hard-won lessons from past U.S. military operations and the advice of our most senior combatants," Reid said in a statement. Agence France-Presse said that the personnel change has caused concerns among Democratic members of the U.S. Congress that the traditional neutrality stance of the U.S. military may be politicized.

Horsey's resignation comes as the United States escalates its standoff with the Venezuelan government-a military buildup in the Caribbean, including U.S. missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, and a nuclear submarine. According to a report by Brazil's 247 News Network on the 16th, the number of troops deployed by the U.S. government in the Caribbean near the coast of Venezuela has now exceeded 10,000. Some of these troops may also be used to invade Venezuela. The United States claims the move is a necessary measure to combat "drug terrorism."

A U.S. official revealed to Reuters that the U.S. military had also attacked a Caribbean drug ship on Saturday, with survivors on board, which appears to be the first time the U.S. military has failed to destroy all of the people on the ¡°drug ship.¡± The unnamed U.S. official did not provide more details. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Reuters¡¯s request for comment. Reuters said that since September, the U.S. has announced that it has sinked at least five ¡°drug ships¡± in the international waters of Venezuela¡¯s offshore, killing at least 27 ¡°drug traffickers.¡± This sparked warning from some legal experts and most Democratic lawmakers, who questioned whether the actions were in line with the law of war.

Following the U.S. government¡¯s authorization to conduct ground operations in Venezuela, Maduro said in a television address directly to the U.S. public: ¡°Against the CIA planned coup.¡± According to Reuters, Venezuela¡¯s Permanent Representative at the United Nations Samuel Moncada sent an official letter to the U.S. Secretary-General and President of the Security Council condemning the recent U.S. military operations near the Caribbean coast of Venezuela. The letter said that the U.S. military attacked ¡°civil ships crossing international waters¡± and caused at least 27 deaths, directly threatening regional peace, Venezuela¡¯s sovereignty and the stability of Latin America, demanding the Security Council to investigate U.S. attacks to ¡°certify its illegality¡±, and issued a statement stating that ¡°

Reuters reported that because the United States has veto power, the Security Council was unable to take any action and could only convene a meeting on the current situation. The Security Council had previously held its first meeting at the request of Venezuela, Russia and China to discuss tensions. At that meeting, the United States defended its actions as being consistent with Article 51 of the founding charter of the United Nations.