Venezuela said Wednesday it had formally invited the Vatican's secretary of state to be a "good faith witness" to talks on ending two months of deadly anti-government protests.

President Nicolas Maduro and opposition coalition representatives had agreed the night before to the talks, which are tentatively set to begin Thursday under the oversight of UNASUR, a regional South American grouping, and the Vatican.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and members of the opposition were to meet later Tuesday to lay the groundwork for talks to end more than two months of demonstrations that have killed dozens.

It follows mediation efforts by a delegation of South American ministers, all members of the regional Unasur group, who have been in Caracas since Sunday to promote political dialogue in their crisis-hit neighbor.

President Nicolas Maduro agreed to meet with a Venezuelan opposition delegation on Tuesday, after a fresh push from top diplomats from across South America.

In just over two months, 39 people have died in clashes between security forces and protesters angered by soaring crime, high inflation and shortages demonstrators blame on Maduro's elected, heavily state-led socialist government.

A Venezuelan diplomat reappeared briefly in court in Kenya on Monday on charges of killing his country's ambassador in July 2012, although the case was adjourned to early June.

Venezuela's former first secretary to Kenya, Dwight Sagaray, is charged alongside several other accused.

Venezuela's attorney general on Friday formally charged jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez with inciting violence and other charges related to mass protests against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

Lopez has been held in a military prison since his February 18 arrest in the midst of an opposition protest rally.

The Roman Catholic Church in Venezuela on Wednesday accused the leftist government of President Nicolas Maduro of seeking to impose a "totalitarian government," blaming it for the protests shaking the country.

Monsignor Diego Padron, the president of the conference of bishops, denounced the abuse of force, torture of detained protesters, and the persecution of opposition mayors and lawmakers.

Venezuelan police blocked an opposition lawmaker from returning to the legislature to retake her seat on Tuesday and fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of her supporters.

In a direct challenge to President Nicolas Maduro, Maria Corina Machado had vowed to attend the National Assembly, despite her removal from office being confirmed Monday by the Supreme Court.

In a direct challenge to President Nicolas Maduro, a prominent Venezuelan opposition politician vowed to take her seat in the National Assembly Tuesday despite her ouster by the Supreme Court.

The head of the legislative body had ordered Maria Corina Machado expelled and her parliamentary immunity stripped last week after she tried to speak before the Organization of American States about her country's crisis.

Venezuelan security forces have cleared barricades from the western city that launched the first in a wave of national anti-government protests, a military commander said Monday.

Vladimir Padrino, head of the armed forces' strategic operations command, said that police and the national guard had removed the blockades in three key avenues of San Cristobal late Sunday.

The death toll from several weeks of protests that have paralyzed Venezuela rose to 39 on Saturday after two more people died in separate incidents, Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said on VTV public television that in San Cristobal, hotbed of the movement that has seen some of the worst violence, a 44-year-old man died after being struck by a high tension cable as demonstrators carried a billboard to form a barricade.