Washington  - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday the United States must reach out to Latin American leaders to reverse of the "disturbing" trend of growing Chinese and Iranian influence in the region.

"If you look at the gains, particularly in Latin America, that Iran is making and China is making, its quite disturbing," Clinton said after giving speech to State Departement employees.

The Bush administration's policy of isolating leaders who have led the opposition to US policies in Central and Latin America has failed and marginalized Washington's interests, she said.

The United States should extend a hand to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Bolivia's Evo Morales, Ecuador's Rafael Correa and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega.

"We see a number of countries and leaders - Chavez is one of them but not the only one - who, over the last eight years, has become more and more negative and oppositional to the United States," Clinton said.

"The prior administration tried to isolate them, tried to support opposition to them, tried to turn them into international pariahs. It didnt work," Clinton added.

President Barack Obama said at a summit in Trinidad and Tobago in April that he wanted to improve relations with Latin America after years of decline during the Bush years. Chavez and Obama shook hands and briefly exchanged words at the gathering.

Obama has also moved to improve ties with Cuba, the longest US foe in the region. He eased sanctions last month to allow Cuban- Americans to travel to the communist island, but Latin American leaders have urged him to go even further and end the comprehensive embargo that has been in place since the 1960s.

Obama has said he wants to see his gestures to Havana returned in the form of releasing political prisoners, expanding human rights and democratic reforms. Clinton acknowledged the United States stands alone in the region with its policy toward Cuba.

"Were facing an almost united front against the United States regarding Cuba," she said. "Every country, even those with whom we are closest, is just saying, 'You've got to change, you cant keep doing what youre doing'." (dpa)