Is the US Navy After Brazil's Oil? Some Brazilians Think So

In a region where there are virtually no terrorist groups seeking to attack the United States, or deployment or even development of nuclear arsenals, it is time for a civilian and not a military approach to define and lead U.S. foreign relations in Latin America. The announcement of the IV Fleet setting sail does not represent any major change in U.S. military activity, but it does reveal how the U.S. government's approach to Latin America can be an element of division in the hemisphere. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead announced on April 24 the re-deployment of the IV Fleet.(1) He said that '[r]e-establishing the Fourth Fleet recognizes the immense importance of maritime security in the southern part of the Western Hemisphere, and signals our support and interest in the civil and military maritime services in Central and South America.'
Effective July 1, the new command structure will have operational responsibility for U.S. Navy ships that operate in the SouthCom area - one of the six regions of the world that the Pentagon divides into unified commands.