WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior U.S. officials traveled to Venezuela on Saturday to meet with President Nicolas Maduro's government, seeking to determine whether Caracas is prepared to back away from its close ties to Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the matter.

       The trip is the highest-level U.S. visit to Venezuela in years after the two countries broke diplomatic relations amid a campaign of U.S. sanctions and diplomatic pressure aimed at ousting Maduro, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

       (Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by William Mallard)