Dec. 20 is a national day of mourning in Panama in memory of the victims of the 1989 US invasion of the country. At the time, it was the largest invasion since Vietnam and the first after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the US, it was heralded as liberating the country from dictator Manuel Noriega, a former US ally. But in Panama, many saw it as something much different. The victims of the US action are still demanding justice.
In 1964, riots that started in the US-controlled Panama Canal zone led to the deaths of 22 students and, ultimately, to negotiations that put the Panama Canal under joint US-Panamanian control and gave Panama full control by 1999.
A multibillion-dollar expansion of the Panama Canal is proving a boon to scientists. The construction has revealed a trove of fossils, revealing a wide array of creatures that lived at the southern end of North America 20 millions years ago.
A river runs through the Geo Quiz: The Central American river on our radar today has been a busy waterway for the past five centuries. Pirates and traders famously plied these waters including the famed Captain Henry Morgan.
Today's answer is Camino de Cruces in Panama. It's part of centuries old path that crosses the country from the Caribbean to the Pacific. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with biologist Roland Kays, who's following the trail with 4 of his friends.