Manuel Carballal: The UFO Phenomenon Is Manipulated by the Intelligence Agencies

 

The UFO Phenomenon Is Manipulated by the Intelligence Agencies

By Manuel Carballal


Fernando, an operative agent for CESID, locked the office door the moment I walked in. With complete nonchalance, he unholstered his pistol—a short-barrel 9mm—and removed the magazine. As if performing a routine gesture, he checked to ensure the magazine was fully loaded. Then, he reinserted the magazine into the pistol, racked the slide, and returned the weapon to his belt holster with total composure—a composure I certainly did not share. This wouldn't be the first time I’d had a weapon pointed at me during my UFO investigations involving military personnel; on one occasion, the barrel of a CETME assault rifle had even been pressed against my head at a certain Spanish base I prefer not to recall. Yet, one never truly gets used to such scares. It was evident that, with that seemingly routine gesture, Fernando had attempted to intimidate me—to "mark his territory." And he had succeeded. One is simply not accustomed to finding oneself locked inside an office with a spy who so blithely puts his weapon on display. He was the third CESID agent—to my knowledge—whom my investigations into the Spanish intelligence services' UFO files had led me to encounter.

Despite official denials and bureaucratic evasions, I had discovered that the Domestic Intelligence Department of "La Casa"—the Agency—maintains a strictly classified archive of UFO files. Fernando Rueda—author of *La Casa* and *Espías*, the first books ever published regarding Spanish intelligence agents—had just confirmed this to me at the editorial offices of *Tiempo* magazine. And if the Spanish spies I’ve spoken with are to be believed, those files contain ufological information of incalculable value. That is why I had found myself compelled, once again, to employ near-suicidal strategies—such as "crashing" a skydiving club or joining a shooting team—in order to infiltrate police and intelligence circles. Those strategies—which may seem far-fetched—have enabled me to gain access to confidential UFO reports from the Police and the Civil Guard, and to get close to secret agents like Fernando. At that very moment—with a pistol at his belt—he was pulling a briefcase from which he would extract a dossier containing classified information regarding one of the young Spanish ufologists—namely, myself—who are currently under surveillance by national intelligence services. The most surprising thing of all is that Fernando is a well-known figure in Valencia’s paranormal community. Who said there aren't spies infiltrated within the fields of international ufology and parapsychology?

Naturally, his identity must remain anonymous. Among other reasons, because—as a spy—he is currently conducting undercover investigations as part of the counter-terrorism effort against ETA; were it to become public knowledge that, in addition to being an esotericist, he is also an agent for the CESID, he would likely be assassinated immediately.

UFO "James Bonds"

In 1993, I published a book on the history of secret weapons, unconventional aircraft, and military espionage related to the UFO phenomenon. It was the only book written in Spain addressing this long-neglected subject within the field of ufology. Following the publication of that little book—and building upon my earlier investigations into UFO sightings reported by pilots (a database that now totals over 1,400 archived cases)—several military officers, aeronautical engineers, police officers, spies, and other officials from the State Security Forces reached out to me. Some wished to know my sources; others sought to exchange information; and still others claimed they simply wanted to provide me with details regarding what governments—including the Spanish government—are concealing in relation to UFOs.

Of all these contacts within the Ministry of Defense, one has proven particularly fruitful. I refer to him as "Marco," as he wishes to conceal his true identity for obvious reasons. This true polymath—an expert in aeronautics, a biologist, a military historian, a Ministry official, and someone with access to confidential Defense intelligence—first contacted me via letter after reading my work on UFOs and secret weapons. Telephone calls followed later, and finally, face-to-face interviews. From the very beginning of our relationship, Marco provided me with a vast amount of information regarding espionage, military intelligence, and UFOs. According to him, "the public has a right to know the Truth," and he decided to choose me—for reasons I remain unaware of—to serve as the custodian of this documentation. To paraphrase the source for journalists Woodward and Bernstein who exposed Watergate—or the anonymous informant for Agent Mulder in *The X-Files*—Marco describes himself as a "Deep Throat" ready to shake the very foundations of traditional ufology.

On a single occasion—shielded by a false identity—I was able to attend one of their meetings as an observer. The participants ranged from Navy Lieutenant Colonels to members of the Royal Family, as well as officers from the Brunete Brigade, Civil Guards, submarine experts, and others.

During that meeting, I heard a Lieutenant Colonel—one of the most senior-ranking officers in the Spanish Navy—describe how, on one occasion while he was a junior officer, a UFO passed directly over his ship's bridge and was detected on radar. When he submitted his report to the vessel's Captain, the Captain tore it up right before his eyes, telling him that such incidents were not to be documented in writing. I had to bite my tongue to keep from immediately interjecting in the conversation and thereby giving away my identity.

At this very moment, that same Lieutenant Colonel—along with the Navy Intelligence Services—is frantically attempting to track down the source of a leak regarding a confidential report currently in my possession. That report details the simultaneous radar and visual detection of a UFO by a Spanish Navy vessel during the height of the Gulf War. The document includes confidential military identification codes used for missile launches. This report served as one of my key tools for establishing contact with agents from the CESID regarding "crashed UFOs" in Spain, as well as other matters of profound ufological significance.

It is within this milieu—populated by spies, anonymous informants, secret weapons, confidential documents, and intelligence agencies—that a particular dimension of the UFO phenomenon operates: a dimension that the majority of ufologists prefer to ignore. They choose to overlook it because it is both uncomfortable and dangerous. It would not be the first time—as is currently happening in the United States—that civilian or military UFO researchers have been "suicided" (or, at the very least, made to disappear) simply because they stumbled upon this particular facet of the UFO phenomenon. Though that subject, in itself, would warrant an entire article of its own. UFOs, Flying Saucers, and Extraterrestrial Craft

When Marco handed me the dossier of blueprints—showing front, side, top, and elevation views—of "Flying Saucers," I was left utterly perplexed. I had heard of many of these disc-shaped craft designs before. And despite priding myself on possessing one of the most comprehensive archives in Spain regarding this subject, I had never seen such detailed schematics covering their navigation systems, landing gear, offensive capabilities, or even the hatch intended for paratroopers. Yet, these were not extraterrestrial craft. Let’s take this one step at a time.

The concept of the "flying saucer" has become synonymous with that of the UFO—and, by extension, with the "alien spacecraft." However, the reality is that these concepts are not necessarily linked.

A UFO is simply any flying object that an observer is unable to identify; and long before Kenneth Arnold ushered in the modern era of the social phenomenon known as the UFO, "flying saucers" already existed—craft that had very little to do with spaceships from other planets, at least as far as I know.

Any enthusiast of aviation history will have, on more than one occasion, stumbled upon sketches of "Flying Saucers" and disc-shaped aircraft within aviation catalogs and treatises.

Indeed, Leonardo da Vinci himself, back in his day, sketched the profiles of circular-shaped craft in his drawings. War chariots, portable fortresses, and other contraptions that—had they ever actually taken flight—would have served as the perfect precursors to the "flying saucers" of later eras.

Later, in 19th-century Germany—and serving as a premonition of the Nazi saucers that have caused so many headaches for modern ufologists—the mathematician and aviation theorist August Wilhelm Zachariae (a figure now largely forgotten by aviation history) conducted experiments with circular-wing models. Subsequently, in 1922, the British inventor Lee Richards developed an aircraft with a circular wing in England, designed to reach a top speed of 130 km/h and a taxiing speed of approximately 35 km/h.

Later, during the 1930s, several circular-winged aircraft designs were built in the USA; these would eventually confuse certain ufologists, who mistook them for evidence of UFOs that had crashed on American soil (see sidebar).

Meanwhile, in 1932, the American H. Zimmerman conducted a series of wind-tunnel tests involving various types of circular wings in order to identify the configuration exhibiting the least aerodynamic drag at its tips. The results of these tests were published in NACA’s (now NASA’s) "Technical Report 431," creating a genuine sensation and leading to the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 2,108,093; these findings later found practical application in the Chance Vought V-173, which made its maiden flight in 1942.

Furthermore, I recently came into possession of the original documents—not photocopies—pertaining to the sole Spanish patent ever granted for a "flying saucer." Accompanied by the License for the Commercial Exploitation of Invention Patent No. 224,592, these documents were formally submitted to the Intellectual Property Registry of the Ministry.

With the advent of World War II, the design of saucer-shaped secret weapons skyrocketed. Historical records document no fewer than fifteen distinct designs—and even two actual prototypes—of "Nazi UFOs."

The history of German "flying saucers"—setting aside the aforementioned antecedents, such as the designs of August Wilhelm Zachariae—begins with the distinguished Alexander Lippisch. Starting in early 1939, Lippisch developed for Messerschmitt in Augsburg his Me-163 delta-wing rocket fighter—a craft that eventually entered mass production. He also commissioned wind-tunnel testing at the AVA facility in Göttingen regarding his circular-wing designs from 1940–41, though in this instance, the results were not particularly spectacular.

Also in the late 1930s, another German designed aircraft with a circular planform—designs arguably even more intriguing than those of Zachariae. This individual was Arthur Sack, a farmer from Machern (near Leipzig). An avid aeromodeler, Sack decided to move beyond mere speculation regarding "flying saucers" and set to work building a physical model of one. As reported by German and British aviation journals—such as *Luftfahrt International*, *Air International*, and *RAF Flying Review*—which published photographs of this "Nazi UFO," "we do not know what inspired Sack, but there stands his flying saucer."

For certain esoteric-political groups established in Spain—as in many other parts of the world—it was actual extraterrestrials who inspired the Nazi engineers. I have personally read secret reports from the CESID (Spain's intelligence agency) and the Spanish police—indeed, I possess copies of some of them—concerning esoteric Nazi groups that exploit the UFO phenomenon and the myth of flying saucers to recruit young people awaiting the resurgence of the Fourth Reich. This political-ufological dimension of "Nazi UFOs" remains an unresolved issue within the field of Spanish ufology. Not long ago, in a certain Spanish city, I tracked down one of the last surviving SS officers—a man living in hiding in Spain, pursued by the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Foundation. He was both an eyewitness to, and a historical protagonist in, that little-known reality...

"Military UFOs": Top Secret

When Marco handed me the dossier containing technical blueprints for "terrestrial flying saucers," he drew my attention to two very reasonable aspects of the "Top Secret UFO" phenomenon: "Forget about extraterrestrials for a moment. Regardless of whether they exist or not, one thing is clear: various militaries and civilian engineers have been building flying saucers for over half a century. From the standpoint of industrial espionage, any aircraft capable of vertical takeoff—such as Rolls-Royce’s 'Flying Bedstead,' VTOL aerostats, or the 'Rotavion'—has sparked envy and fierce competition among aeronautical engineers. There are millions of dollars at stake. Can you imagine the sheer cost of runways, conventional airports, and aeronautical logistics—costs that would vanish with the advent of vertical-takeoff aircraft? And from a military perspective, I can tell you that ever since the Nazis' fantastic 'Miracle Fighter,' numerous vertical-takeoff aircraft have been developed in secret—such as the famous 'Harrier' or the 'Tailsitters' (the Lockheed XFV-1 and the Convair XFY-1 'Pogo'), both of which featured rigid wings. In both cases, propulsion was achieved by means of an Allison YT40-A-14 turbine—generating 5,850 horsepower—and two counter-rotating propellers measuring 4.88 meters in diameter. There are very serious economic interests at play ensuring that real 'flying saucers' remain a secret—and that the only things people talk about are little green men." In other words, only the economic interests at stake—specifically those related to the new aeronautical technologies associated with "Flying Saucers"—could justify such absolute secrecy regarding UFOs... at any cost. But there is more—much more.

On September 9th, I met with a former Aviation Police officer who had been stationed in the Security and Defense Department at Air Surveillance Squadron No. 10 (EVA 10), located on the Barbanza Peninsula (A Coruña). Rafael I. provided us with fascinating information regarding his tour of duty at EVA 10. Just as I had suspected, the military radars providing coverage for the northwestern airspace frequently detected Unidentified Objects penetrating Spanish territory. Detailing the full scope of UFO incidents reported by radar operators and pilots in Spain would be a subject for another report entirely. However, of all the information shared with us by the former Security and Defense officer, two points stood out as particularly intriguing. On one hand, there were the numerous incursions into Spanish airspace by triangular-shaped American aircraft—planes that, during the Gulf War, went so far as to land illegally at Spanish bases, cloaked behind the "UFO" cover story. On the other hand, there was the existence of reports concerning American "round aircraft" that had been detected on radar, flying over Spanish soil on several occasions, "suspended for hours in the air..."

This startling information served to corroborate the testimony of a Spanish Army Captain—who was also a member of the CESID—whom I had interviewed previously.

Captain X. took a leave of absence from the Spanish Army just before attaining the rank of Colonel. However, his work with CESID intelligence agents granted him access to extraordinary information. "I can tell you, Manuel," he explained to me during one of our meetings, "that a Flying Saucer remained landed at Zaragoza Air Base for several days. It was located in the American sector of the base, and we surmised it was some kind of secret aircraft; that is why the CESID was required to compile a highly detailed report. And Manglano knows about it... Manglano knows everything."

The Captain—who was also an intelligence agent—told me that he had personally sighted UFOs on two occasions. On one instance, while traveling by train, he observed the low-altitude flight of unmarked Sabre fighter jets over Spanish territory. "They were likely Portuguese spy planes, but had they been detected on any radar, they would have registered as Unidentified Objects." On another occasion, from his home in Barcelona, ​​he and his entire family observed the maneuvers of a series of objects which—this time—proved impossible to identify. "I can tell you that UFOs do exist. There are things in the sky that we cannot identify; however, it is also true that this subject has been exploited to conceal all manner of secret military testing."

And how! During the wave of UFO sightings in Galicia—which we have been reporting on diligently—we have made some surprising discoveries. After traveling more than 2,000 kilometers through the towns and villages of Galicia, we have compiled over 200 cases of UFO sightings. When we plotted these cases on a map, we were in for a surprise: a significant percentage of the sightings occurred within topographical depressions—that is to say, situated between mountain ranges. The only reasonable explanation is that those objects—whatever they may be—were attempting to evade detection by the Barbanza radar system by flying through "radar shadow" zones.

In the latest issue of the newsletter *EL OJO CRITICO*, the intrepid investigator Alex Navarro publishes an interview with former Minister of Defense Antonio Olart (who had himself been the victim of one of the most scandalous surveillance operations conducted by the CESID—Spain's intelligence agency at the time—despite having been the very person who proposed Emilio Alonso Manglano to head "The House"). In this interview, the Defense Minister from Spain's democratic transition era acknowledges that, lying behind many UFO cases, are covert experiments involving unconventional aircraft conducted by "Americans, the French, the British, or even us—we experiment with things, but we don't talk about it..."

Scientific Ufologists or Military Ufologists?

But there is more—much more.

In 1994, hundreds of Galicians observed an Unidentified Object that flew at low altitude across several towns in the southern province of Pontevedra. We gathered eyewitness accounts in Porriño, Vigo, Bueu, the Illa de Ons, and elsewhere, which allowed us to plot an "Orthoteny"—that is, the object's precise trajectory. It was described as a "giant suppository" or an "iron cylinder" that was "spewing fire from its rear," and which had originated in Portugal. In my personal archive, I retain a Portuguese aeronautical report regarding this case—a document I am not yet authorized to publish. From a diplomatic and political standpoint, it would be far more serious for the Galician press to report that a Portuguese missile had overflown several Spanish towns—ultimately crashing into the Atlantic just a few miles off the Galician coast—than to run a story about "Galician sailors seeing Martians," a subject that carries no real social significance.

On numerous occasions, illegal ballistic experiments, flight tests of new aircraft, or the deployment of secret weapons have been concealed behind the "UFO" smokescreen in order to avert political conflicts. Let us not forget that, to this day, members of parliament from both the PSOE and the PP have—on multiple occasions—formally submitted parliamentary inquiries to Congress regarding UFO incidents. In private correspondence, some of those deputies have confessed to me that they did not believe the official version provided to them by the military. In such cases, intelligence agencies ensure that the term included in press headlines is "UFO"—rather than "missile," "secret aircraft," or "spy satellite." Immediately thereafter, "scientific ufologists" receive "disinterested support" from the military high command, which furnishes them with all manner of data regarding stratospheric balloons, planetary conjunctions, and other conventional explanations with which to account for the sighting. It is these explanations that they then take it upon themselves to disseminate in the specialized press. In this manner, shameful military experiments are rationalized—attributed to the planet Venus, weather balloons, and the like—at the hands of these "skeptics." 

Regarding the cover-up surrounding UFOs, I myself have received substantial financial offers from CESID—offers I have not accepted, at least for the time being. However, I can state with certainty that, whether consciously or unconsciously, numerous well-known Spanish ufologists are playing right into the hands of the Spanish military by collaborating in the effort to discredit the UFO phenomenon—a phenomenon behind which lies a multitude of state secrets.

What would have happened had a ufologist discovered that a certain instance of "Unidentified Traffic" detected on radar was, in fact, the Hercules aircraft transporting Luis Roldán from Laos back to Spain? To say that "Roldán returned to Spain in a UFO" might sound like a joke, but technically speaking, it would be accurate. Spanish intelligence agencies devised a meticulous plan to bring Roldán back—a plan that involved, among other things, utilizing two identical Hercules aircraft sharing the exact same flight plan. One aircraft would land in a specific European city, just as its flight plan indicated, while the other would continue its journey to Laos to pick up the fugitive. That aircraft—unidentified and detected on military radar—was, technically, a UFO; yet, far from representing an alien encounter, it was merely the product of one of the many Spanish espionage maneuvers concealed behind the smokescreen of ufology.

But there is more—much more. I currently hold in my possession police reports concerning UFO-centric cults that exploit the phenomenon to recruit followers, as well as far-right groups that leverage the UFO phenomenon for political gain—not to mention even more sensitive matters, such as illegal genetic experimentation, organ trafficking, and a long list of other illicit activities.

In short, within the archives of CESID—much like those of MI6, the CIA, the Mossad, the KGB, the G-2, and the world's other major intelligence agencies—lies the most startling information regarding UFOs. These are confidential files covering every conceivable aspect of the UFO phenomenon—files that remain hidden from the public eye. They detail new technologies, diplomatic incidents, secret weaponry, espionage operations, psychological manipulation, and much more. But what if, in addition to all this, some UFOs were actually non-human spacecraft? Just a few weeks ago, trailers for the movie *Independence Day* sowed panic among Spanish television viewers—much as Orson Welles' *The War of the Worlds* did half a century ago. Would CESID consider the Spanish public capable of handling the truth—should such evidence exist—regarding an extraterrestrial presence?

One of the most fascinating aspects of this subject involves cases of crashed UFOs in Spain. We, too, have had our own "Latin Roswells." In some instances I have investigated, the incidents turned out to be experiments involving new fuels, secret weapons, and the like; however, there are testimonies regarding an unidentified craft—and even a humanoid entity—that were collected in Spain and subsequently concealed, according to my sources, in Madrid. One of the witnesses I was able to interview claims to have seen a photograph of the "Spanish Roswell" incident and the alleged recovered alien. And, as is the case with all such incidents, this information remains filed away within the impenetrable bunker of CESID, located on the Carretera de La Coruña in Madrid. Mulder is wrong: "The Truth is *in there*."

NOTE: To whom it may concern: Copies of the audio recordings of my interviews with CESID agents (including "Marco") and numerous high-ranking officers from all three branches of the military—along with a dossier of documents and photographs—are currently in the custody of my attorney, to be released to the public in the event of an "accident."

Manuel Carballal

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