US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Schenker said that the United States is investigating and trying to find the truth of reports that the retired Libyan General Khalifa Hifter's plane was in the Venezuelan capital Caracas last week to conclude an oil deal.
The news official added in an interview with the Hudson Institute in Washington that this news is cause for concern, noting that the sanctions of the United States and the United Nations apply to those who export Libyan oil outside the legal supervision of the Libyan National Oil Corporation.
The Venezuelan embassy in the United States announced last Monday that Hifter's plane arrived in Venezuela on an unannounced visit.
The Wall Street Journal also previously revealed that Washington is investigating suspicious relations between Haftar and Caracas, and irregular oil deals involving Emirati mediators, while the opposition accused President Nicholas Maduro's regime of holding what it described as blood-stained deals.
The newspaper last week published information about US investigations into attempts to conclude oil deals between Haftar and Venezuela through a Dubai-based shipping company.
It quoted US, European and Libyan officials as saying that the United Nations and the reconciliation government are participating in investigations involving a shipping company suspected of helping Haftar to market oil in the Mediterranean.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that the United States is also investigating a visit by Haftar to Caracas to broker oil and fuel deals.