Ilya Espino de Marotta, deputy administrator of the Panama Canal, stands before an interview with AFP at the Panama Canal Administration Building in Panama City on September 4, 2026. (Photo by ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP via Getty Images)

Ilya Espino de Marotta, deputy administrator of the Panama Canal, speaks during an interview with AFP at the Panama Canal Administration Building in Panama City on September 4, 2026. (Photo by ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP via Getty Images)

Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino waves alongside his wife, Maricel Cohen de Mulino, as they arrive at the inauguration ceremony for the new Panama Canal Administrador at the Administration building in Panama City on September 7, 2026. Marotta assumes the administration of the Panama Canal for the 2026-2033 period, becoming the first woman to lead the interoceanic waterway. (Photo by ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP via Getty Images)

Panama Canal Authority Administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta and her husband, Peter Marotta, arrive at her inauguration ceremony at the Panama Canal Administration Building in Panama City on September 7, 2026. Marotta assumes the administration of the Panama Canal for the 2026-2033 period, becoming the first woman to lead the interoceanic waterway. (Photo by ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP via Getty Images)

Panama Canal Authority Administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta delivers a speech during her inauguration ceremony at the Panama Canal Administration Building in Panama City on September 7, 2026. Marotta assumes the administration of the Panama Canal for the 2026-2033 period, becoming the first woman to lead the interoceanic waterway. (Photo by ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP via Getty Images)

Panama Canal Authority Administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta (C) poses for a photo with board directors during her inauguration ceremony at the Panama Canal Administration Building in Panama City on September 7, 2026. Marotta assumes the administration of the Panama Canal for the 2026-2033 period, becoming the first woman to lead the interoceanic waterway. (Photo by ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP via Getty Images)

Panama Canal Authority Administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta smiles as she signs a document during her inauguration ceremony at the Panama Canal Administration Building in Panama City on September 7, 2026. Marotta assumes the administration of the Panama Canal for the 2026-2033 period, becoming the first woman to lead the interoceanic waterway. (Photo by ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP via Getty Images)

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi attends a session at the Hili Forum 2026 in Abu Dhabi on September 7, 2026. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP via Getty Images)