U.S. Navy to resurrect fleet dedicated to Caribbean and South America

Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, and Jim Stavridis,
commanding officer of U.S. Southern Command are calling for the
reactivation of the Fourth Fleet dedicated to operations in the
Caribbean and South America, according to the online daily
"Jacksonville Business Journal." The fleet would be based in Mayport,
Florida.

According to the publication, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., expressed
the need for a fleet committed to the region because of "the rising
economic strength of Brazil, the belligerence of Venezuela, the
increasing trade moving through the Panama Canal, and Cuban leader
Fidel Castro's age."

He also explained that the Fleet would require a few hundred personnel
led by a 3-star admiral and would include a nuclear-powered air craft
carrier and a big-deck amphibious ship.