The handover of the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a short cut between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean and plays a huge role in global shipping.The United States had rights to the land surrounding it, known as the canal zone, and also controlled the waterway itself. In 1977, responding to years of Panamanian protest, US President Jimmy Carter and Panama's General Omar Torrijos signed two new treaties, giving full control to Panama. The handover ceremony took place in December 1999.Alberto Aleman Zubieta was an administrator of the canal. Twenty-five years on, he tells Gill Kearsley the story of the handover.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.(Photo: Panama handover ceremony. Credit: Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images)