U.S. President Donald Trump told White House pooler Sam Waldenberg that the U.S. will 'end up getting' a third Venezuelan oil tanker under active pursuit off Venezuela's coast, according to an X post by @KellieMeyerNews in the 59-minute reporting window ending 2:45 a.m. UTC on Dec. 23. The update confirms ongoing U.S. efforts to intercept the vessel, described as 'still chasing' in the post quoting Trump, amid a broader naval blockade operation targeting sanctioned Venezuelan-linked tankers. Trump's comment follows his earlier statement just before 12:16 a.m. UTC on Dec. 23 that 'The tanker is moving along. We will catch it,' citing ABC as relayed by @FaytuksNetwork, with pursuits extending into the Atlantic near Venezuela. U.S. forces have deployed additional assets including 14 Vermont Air National Guard F-35As to Puerto Rico, the 921st Contingency Response Squadron to Santo Domingo's SDQ airport, and USAF aircraft such as U-28A Draco, EC-130H Compass Call, and MC-130J to Southern Command, as reported by @ianellisjones in the prior window ending 1:45 a.m. UTC. Prior MC-130J presence at Aguadilla's Rafael Hernández International Airport was confirmed by Sentinel-2 satellite imagery on Dec. 22, according to @LatAmMilMVMTs.
