A delegation of six U.S. senators, including Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, arrived in La Paz, Bolivia, Thursday seeking to smooth relations with Bolivia's left-leaning government.

Sen. Ken Salazar, a Colorado Democrat, said in fluent Spanish to Bolivian reporters that the visit "signals a different direction'' for U.S.-Bolivian relations, which have been strained under Bolivia's leftist leader Evo Morales.

"I believe all of us want the same thing, to help lift up the people of Latin America so that they can achieve the human dignity they deserve,'' Salazar said.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said that Morales, Bolivia's first Indian president, had been elected democratically.

"Not everyone was pleased with the outcome, but that's the way elections are, just like ours of Nov. 7,'' he said, referring to the vote in which Reid's Democratic Party retook both houses of Congress.

Reid then admired a copy of Morales' famous red-and-blue striped sweater hand-knit by a Quechua woman.

Joining Reid and Salazar are incoming Majority Whip Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois; Sen. Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota; Sen. Judd Gregg, a Republican from New Hampshire and Sen. Robert Bennett, a Republican from Utah.

U.S. ties to Bolivia have been tense partly due to Morales' friendship with Presidents Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, as well as by Morales' background as the leader of coca growers fighting U.S. attempts to eradicate their crops.

Morales' announced earlier this month that he would seek to significantly expand the area for legally allowed cultivation of coca, which is commonly used in Bolivia as a mild stimulant but is also the main ingredient in cocaine.

The statement drew sharp criticism from Washington, which has strenuously objected to any increase in coca production, but the two nations this month signed an agreement guaranteeing $34 million in U.S. anti-narcotics aid for next year.

Like Chavez, Morales has railed against U.S. foreign policy and occasionally accused the Bush administration of plotting to overthrow his government or even assassinate him.

But he also sent Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera twice to Washington to negotiate an extension of a key trade agreement with the U.S. - which President Bush himself eventually backed and Congress passed earlier this month.

The delegation travels next to Ecuador where it will meet Saturday with populist President-elect Rafael Correa, followed by talks with center-left Peruvian President Alan Garcia on Jan. 2.