(Adds Chavez comments on letter from FARC leader)

CARACAS, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Colombia's leftist ELN guerrillas held talks in Caracas with Colombian and Venezuelan officials as part of President Hugo Chavez's efforts to broker a humanitarian accord, Venezuela's government said on Saturday.

The talks with ELN, or National Liberation Army, follow Chavez's recent visit to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to seek a peace deal in Colombia's 40-year-old armed conflict.

A presidential press statement said Chavez had met on Friday night in Caracas with Colombian Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo, adding that Venezuela's envoy to Colombia participated in talks between Restrepo and the ELN delegation.

"(Chavez) said the ambassador to Venezuela in Colombia, Pavel Rondon, participated in one of the meetings that the special delegation of the National Liberation Army (ELN), led by the special envoy Pablo Beltran, held in the capital city with the Colombian High Commissioner for Peace, Luis Carlos Restrepo," the statement said.

A presidential press official told Reuters on Saturday that the capital city in question was Caracas. The statement did not describe the other meetings that included the ELN.

In a related matter, Chavez on Saturday afternoon said he had received a letter from a commander of the FARC, Colombia's largest rebel group, as part of an effort to negotiate the release of hostages seized by the FARC and prisoners held the Colombian government.

"I received a letter from Marulanda, the commander of the FARC, a few days ago, and last night we were trying evaluate positions," Chavez said, apparently referring to his meeting with Restrepo.

He also said that he had originally expected to be an observer in the ELN negotiations but now considered himself a mediator in the effort.

The ELN, considerably smaller than the FARC, has held several rounds of peace talks with Colombian authorities in Cuba. (Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago in Caracas)

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