The U.S. military remains in "active pursuit" of a sanctioned oil tanker linked to Venezuela in the southern Caribbean, an official stated to NewsNation in an X post at 2:46-3:16 AM UTC on December 22, with capture set to mark the third such U.S. seizure in the region during the past 30 minutes. NewsNation reporter Kellie Meyer cited the official's confirmation that forces continue chasing the vessel off Venezuela's coast, building on earlier U.S. Coast Guard pursuits reported by the New York Times, including the Iranian-linked M/T Bella 1 which refused boarding and fled earlier on December 22. President Donald Trump will make an announcement with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Navy tomorrow, December 23, at 4:30 p.m. ET at Mar-a-Lago, according to an X post by @OrlvndoA within the reporting window. This pursuit follows a sanctioned VLCC supertanker approaching Venezuela after a 6-7 week dark fleet voyage with AIS off, as visually confirmed by TankerTrackers.com in the prior 30-minute period ending at 2:46 AM UTC.
