A SENIOR U.S. diplomat was in Venezuela on Tuesday to meet with officials to jumpstart dialogue between the normally hostile governments as the nation is torn apart by daily food protests and a campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

    Thomas Shannon, a career diplomat with extensive experience in Latin America, flew to Caracas after weeks of looting and hunger riots in Venezuela. The riots led to hundreds of arrests and several deaths.

    U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Shannon, who now serves as undersecretary of state for political affairs, hoped to foster dialogue about the social, economic and political challenges facing the oil-rich country.

    He was to meet with leading opposition figures and was also expected to meet with Maduro and other government representatives.

    The visit comes as the Organization of American States is set to meet later in the week in Washington to debate the mounting crisis and weigh sanctioning Maduro for allegedly stamping out political dissent in violation of regional commitments to democracy.

    The opposition held talks with Maduro two years ago after bloody anti-government protests swept the nation, but that dialogue eventually dissolved without bearing fruit. Today, government opponents are taking a different tack, organizing around a recall referendum they hope will lead to Maduro being removed from office this year with one of their own potentially to replace him.

    Thousands of Caracas residents stood in a warm drizzle Tuesday waiting to verify their signatures on a recall petition by having their fingerprints taken. The weeklong verification drive began Monday and is the first of a series of steps in the byzantine recall process.

    Food protests continued to pop up in the capital Tuesday. A small group of residents stopped traffic near a Caracas slum, while in a wealthy neighborhood people hung banners saying “we are hungry.”

    (SD-Agencies)