Donald Trump appointed Marine Lt. Gen. Francis L. Donovan as head of Southern Command for Latin America, the Pentagon said on Friday (December 20, 2025), while the US president said he was not ruling out war with Venezuela.
According to the Department of Defense, Donovan is the current deputy chief of U.S. Special Operations Command. If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace Admiral Alvin Holsey, who announced in mid-October that he would leave his post on December 12 to “retire” and who, according to the US press, criticized attacks on alleged drug boats off the coast of Venezuela. According to the New York Times, which quotes defense officials, the admiral was “concerned” about the decision to attack these boats.
More than a hundred dead in attacks on drug boats
Washington has deployed key military hardware in the Caribbean and Pacific and bombed ships there that it attributes to suspected drug traffickers, the latest this Thursday, killing five crew members. The attacks have already claimed more than 100 lives, according to an AFP official count. Venezuela condemns a plot to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro and take over its oil.
In a statement released on Friday On the Pentagon portal, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that Trump had appointed Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Francis L. Donovan “to head the US Southern Command (SouthCom).” The command is responsible for Central and South America as well as some Caribbean areas.
lgc (afp, nyt, war.gov)
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