The US Navy is re-establishing its Fourth Fleet to oversee and coordinate all ships, planes and submarines operating in Latin America and the Caribbean. The newly revived fleet, originally disbanded after World War II, will be directed by a nuclear aircraft carrier.

The Navy claims the fleet will help fight “narcoterrorism” in the region.

Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead said that the Navy is re-establishing the fleet out of recognition of “the immense importance of maritime security in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere…. This change increases our emphasis in the region on employing naval forces to build confidence and trust among nations through collective maritime security efforts that focus on common threats and mutual interests.”

While 11 naval vessels are currently deployed in the Southern Command (”Southcom“) region, Stevenson said that number will probably increase.

The announcement comes as the number of leftist governments in the region — less accommodating to US corporate interests than many of the area’s regimes have been in the past few decades — continues to increase. It also follows news that Venezuela and Brazil have begun discussions for a South American defense council, in which the United States has been asked not to participate.