CARACAS - (AP) -- Former President Jimmy Carter will visit Venezuela this week to mediate talks between the government and opposition, which have been locked in a power struggle since a failed coup.

  ''We receive him with faith and joy,'' Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said Sunday during his weekly radio show, adding that Carter's visit should ``give footing,
  strength to peace.''

  After a series of meetings with Chávez and opposition politicians that concluded late Saturday, the Carter Center announced that Carter would arrive this Saturday for a four-day visit to help break the political deadlock.

  ''The delegation has been impressed by the deep commitment to democracy and strong support among Venezuelans for a peaceful resolution to the divisions within the country,'' said Jennifer McCoy, the mission leader.

  Carter's visit comes at the invitation of Chávez, who is hoping the ex-president can help persuade opposition politicians, business and labor leaders to join
  government-sponsored reconciliation talks.

  Chávez, an ally of Cuban President Fidel Castro, praised Carter for becoming the first American president -- former or sitting -- to visit Cuba since the U.S. embargo on the communist island began.

  Carter visited Cuba in May and pressed for democratic reforms.

  Reconciliation talks here began after Chávez survived an April coup in which military generals briefly toppled him following an opposition march in which 18 people died and hundreds were wounded.

  The left-leaning former paratrooper regained power in less than 48 hours after the coup sparked more deadly demonstrations, military protests and international
  condemnation.

  Chávez promised a more conciliatory government, firing some unpopular Cabinet ministers and vowing changes to some new economic laws staunchly opposed by the business community.

  Prominent opposition parties, however, distrust Chávez and are campaigning for an early referendum on his rule.