article_snippet.sent: (CNN)The VII Summit of the Americas was supposed to be all about the symbolic handshake between United States and Cuba.  
article_snippet.sent: But insert Venezuela into the mix and Panama City, Panama, quickly turns into a "triangle of tension.
article_snippet.sent: Heads of state from 35 countries in the Western Hemisphere have met every three years to discuss economic, social or political issues since the creation of the summit in 1994.  
article_snippet.sent: Cuba has historically been the wrench in the diplomatic machinery, with some Latin American leaders threatening not to attend the Summit of the Americas if United States and Canada didn't agree to invite Castro.
article_snippet.sent: The tide changed December 17, 2014, when President Barack Obama and Castro announced that more than five decades of Cold War rivalry was ending.
article_snippet.sent: Diplomats from the United States and Canada immediately began negotiations to establish embassies in Havana and Washington, and the attention immediately focused on the Summit of the Americas, where for the first time since the about-face, Obama and Castro would come face-to-face.
article_snippet.sent: The much anticipated handshake between Obama and Castro would steal all the headlines if it wasn't for Cuba's strongest ally, Venezuela.
article_snippet.sent: But perhaps most damning for Venezuela -- and creating the "triangle of tension" at the summit --  
article_snippet.sent: While the world watches for the photo-op of Obama and Castro, it's unclear if more Latin American diplomats will side with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and for Venezuela, the VII Summit of the Americas could go from "mi casa es su casa" to a walk into the lion's den.
highlights_snippet.sent: U.S., Venezuelan relations threaten to overshadow Obama, Castro meeting .
  