Albright defends Panama Canal handover

The Panama Canal, PANAMA Jan 15. (UPI) -- Against the backdrop of giant cargo ships transiting narrow locks between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Saturday defended the recent U.S. handover of the Panama Canal.

As the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the Canal since the Dec. 31 handover, Albright said there had been a "seamless transition" from two decades of joint American-Panamanian control to full Panamanian sovereignty. She insisted that it was the "right decision" to end nearly 100 years of American involvement in building and running the canal.