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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.

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(Photo: Panama handover ceremony. Credit: Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images)