I spent a week reporting from the Panama Canal, watching massive container ships inch through the locks as engineers and pilots explained the delicate choreography that keeps one of the world’s most important trade corridors operating.
Built by the United States more than a century ago, the canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, saving shippers thousands of miles, millions of dollars and weeks of travel.
Beyond the engineering feat, it reshaped global commerce and extended American influence far beyond its shores.
