The U.S. Coast Guard is evaluating whether to station cutters in Panama as one component of the military’s broader effort to crack down on cartel activity throughout the Western Hemisphere.

The commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Kevin Lunday, directed Vice Adm. Jo-Ann Burdian, the commander of the Atlantic Area Coast Guard, to review the possible creation of a Western Hemisphere Expeditionary Cutter Squadron in April.