Havana , Cuba ( CNN ) All eyes are going to be on the new kid finally allowed to play and the big kid who for so long wanted nothing to do with him -- Cuba and the United States in the same diplomatic playground . Cuba pulled off a diplomatic coup by marshaling the support of other regional countries to insist on their attendance at the Summit of the Americas . And for the first time since 1962 , the U.S. has not blocked Cuba 's attempt to join . Now it 's time to see how they play and who they play with -- especially Venezuela , which often falls out with Washington for crushing dissent at home and supplying Havana with billions of dollars in oil . Cuba is trying to re-establish itself at the two-day summit in Panama , arriving with more than 100 government officials , diplomats , small business people and artists . But Cuba 's attempts to rebrand itself as an open , diverse society stumbled Wednesday when government supporters and anti-Castro supporters brawled in the streets of Panama . Video of the incident showed Cuban government officials exchanging punches and insults with dissidents until Panamanian police in riot gear broke up the melee . With the historic thawing in relations between the U.S. and Cuba , Washington now has urgent business to discuss with Havana . `` We have really big issues with the Cubans that do need to be solved , '' said Ambassador Vicki Huddleston , who served as the chief of the U.S . Interests Section in Havana . She added `` The Cubans are typical of their negotiating style . You think it 's going to be easy because we have said 'We are going to have good relations with you ' and they say , 'That 's not exciting for us and it is for you . ' So they are hard negotiators as they always have been . '' The forum could provide the opportunity to push forward an agreement to re-establish formal relations and re-open embassies after nearly four months of negotiations . While President Barack Obama is not scheduled to meet Cuban leader Raul Castro , U.S. officials said there will be opportunities for `` interaction '' between the two leaders . The first time the two heads of state met was in 2013 at Nelson Mandela 's funeral . Their brief handshake captured the world 's attention and lit up social media . Few people then knew that the two countries were secretly involved in negotiations to thaw five decades of deadlocked Cold War-era relations . Obama had said he had hoped a U.S. Embassy would reopen in Havana before the summit , but Cuban officials have said they can not imagine a full restoration of diplomatic ties until Cuba is removed from the U.S. State Department list of countries that support terrorism . `` It would be difficult to explain that diplomatic relations have been resumed while Cuba has been unjustly listed as a state sponsor of international terrorism , '' said Josefina Vidal , the general director of U.S. affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry and lead negotiator in the talks . Cuba was added to the list in 1982 , which includes Syria , Iran and Sudan . The designation carries financial sanctions which Cuban officials say further damages their already ailing economy . The State Department has sent a recommendation to the White House that Cuba be removed , paving the way for the White House to announce its intent to de-list Cuba as early as this week , two administration officials told CNN . Removal from the list `` does not relate to whether or not we agree with everything a country does or whether we agree with its political system , or its foreign policy , '' Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday . `` It 's a very practical review as to whether or not a government is sponsoring terrorism . '' Rhodes also dialed backed rhetoric on Venezuela , saying the country did not pose a national security threat to the United States , despite a recent declaration to that effect . The designation was meant to allow officials to target seven allegedly corrupt Venezuelan officials , but it ignited a firestorm , particularly in Cuba , which has close ties to Venezuela . Deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was a friend and admirer of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro . Chavez 's successor Nicolas Maduro continues to send Cuba tens of thousands of barrels of oil each day , despite his country 's own economic turmoil . In exchange , Cuba sends doctors , military advisers and sports trainers to Venezuela . In Cuba 's state-run media , criticism of U.S. policy towards Venezuela has overshadowed the improvement in U.S.-Cuba relations . In March , Fidel Castro published a letter criticizing the U.S. ' `` brutal plans towards '' Venezuela and the Cuban government promised `` unconditional aid '' to help defend against American threats . Its remains to be seen how much Cuba will risk its warming relations with the United States to back up ally Venezuela . But apparently there is little doubt among the Cuban people on what their government should do . A poll of 1,200 Cubans released on Wednesday found that 97 % of the people surveyed by Miami-based polling firm Bendixen & Amandi on behalf of The Washington Post and Univision Noticias/Fusion supported improved U.S.-Cuban relations .
Cuba pulled off a diplomatic coup by gaining attendance at Summit of the Americas . first time since 1962 , the U.S. has not blocked Cuba 's attempt to join . Cuba is trying to re-establish itself at the two-day summit in Panama .