Cuba: Close Encounter of the Third Kind in Los Arabos, Matanzas (1997)

Cuba: Close Encounter of the Third Kind in Los Arabos, Matanzas (1997)
By Orestes Girbau Collado

As reported in “Ovnis en Cuba, la Historia no contada” (UFOs in Cuba – The Untold Story) by Cuban UFO researcher and filmmaker Hugo Parrado Fracos: “On 23 February 1997 at approximately 11:00, Jorge Luis Borges, a heavy equipment operator for the Mario Muñoz Cooperative in Jacán, Los Arabos, Province of Matanzas, was transporting a tractor through a cane field located at the Palmillas farm when he heard a loud explosion. Borges immediately got out of the tractor, thinking something highly unusual had occurred. He immediately noticed the presence of a disc-shaped object similar to a typical silver water tank some 30 meters distant from where he stood. Seconds later, a door opened on the vessel and a humanoid occupant, standing 1.70 meters, stepped outside, wearing a helmet that covered its features. The strange being began walking normally toward the witness, crouching to pick up some plant or soil samples, both abundant at that location. Subsequently, the humanoid returned to the UFO, getting inside and the door closing behind him. Suddenly, another loud explosion was heard, marking the unknown device’s vertical ascent, becoming lost in the sky at high speed. The tractor operator abandoned his equipment and according to accounts, ran several kilometers to the town of Los Arabos, hollering as he did so. He informed the authorities, causing a stir in the area. According to reports, a Commission opened an investigation on-site. Up to here is what has been gleaned by Parrado in his interesting book.

Testimony of Orestes Girbau, president of the then-recently established PIFAAM (Proyecto de Investigación de Fenómenos Anómalos Aéreos en Matanzas – Anomalous Aerial Phenomena Investigation Project in Matanzas) which began operating in the month of April that same year:

“On the afternoon of 3 May 1997, while performing my duties at the Matanzas Meteorological Institute, I received a phone call from the Colón Meteorological Station, saying that a close encounter of the third kind (CE3K) had occurred in a cane field near Los Arabos and that there had been considerable upheaval in that area. I was able to corroborate the case and interview several people who made reference to the incident. Days later, I spoke to a specialist at the Institute of Geophysics and Astronomy (IGA) in this regard. Subsequently, UFO researchers from the city of Colón confirmed this. At no time did PIFAAM conduct investigations directly with Mr. Borges regarding his interesting experience.

The close encounter has similarities with the one that took place near Torrientes, also in the Province of Matanzas: a humanoid with a covered face, collecting specimens, and an explosion prior to landing and upon takeoff. But in the Torrientes case, the UFO took off horizontally at high speed toward the south after having ascended vertically a few meters from its landing spot, a small plot where the witness, a peasant named Adolfo Zárate, was doing work on 15 October 1995 at 9:30 a.m.

[Translation © 2019 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO and Orestes Girbau Collado]

Mexico: “A City Visited By Saucers”

Source: Contactos Extraterrestres #19 (from the files of Alfonso Salazar)
Date: August 17, 1977

Mexico: “A City Visited By Saucers”

[Mr. Salazar writes: This is case investigated by Carlos Guzmán, director of CIFEEAC, the oldest UFO research group in Mexico, established in 1969. This case refers to a sighting in the Nativitas district in 1970]

Sightings are becoming increasingly more common, and we have an example of this in the vast amount of correspondence we receive daily, in which readers describe the characteristics and details about the times in which they have been able to see UFOs.

The accounts submitted coincide, at times, on a broad number of points and – here’s what’s truly surprising – these are not isolated cases. Rather, sightings that take place within a given perimeter and on a variety of days.

For a few months now we have been receiving a considerable amount of mail from the southern areas of the city, where readers claim having witnessed an iridescent UFO that sometimes remains in the sky for several minutes. Readers from this area mention the color, time visible, times it appears, physical characteristics and several other points as a common reference. This phenomenon has been constant since 1976, as far as we have been able to determine based on our correspondence.

Oddly enough, we find in our files a sighting that occurred in Southern Mexico City in 1970, and whose description is nearly identical to the one given by the aforementioned readers. This leads us to suppose that the same UFO has been visiting the area for many years.

As a matter of interest, we are reproducing the information compiled by [Illegible] in 1970, who managed to obtain some diagrams that specify the area in which the case occurred. This, then, is the report:

“On July 18, 1970, Mr. Manuel Domínguez and his wife, Mrs. Rocío Ruiz de Dominguez, were outside their home between 11: 00 and 11:30 PM when their attention was suddenly drawn to a fireball apparently hailing from south of the city. Visibility was excellent that evening; there were some stars in the sky. Mr. and Mrs. Domínguez excitedly summoned their children, who were watching TV, so they could witness the phenomenon. They all went out to the sidewalk to look at the object. As it passed over a small cloud bank, it left a very clear wake resembling sea foam.



“The UFO continued on its way, and stopped producing its wake in the vicinity of the Nativitas district, where it made an abrupt vertical change. The family had to go up to the first story of their house in order to [missing from text]. The object’s speed was constant at all times, and superior to that of aircraft.

“With regard to size, they said that it had the [apparent] size of an orange, and had a fixed light. The sighting lasted nearly three minutes.”

A few blocks away from the Domínguez home, watchman Serafín Vázquez witnessed the same event, and his descriptions fit perfectly with those of the initial witnesses. Without fail, whenever we receive mail from the Mexico City informing us of a sighting, and if the opening lines say it took place in the city’s southern reaches, we immediately imagine that it involves the aforementioned case, which has been reported to us by many readers.

[Translation (c)2019 Scott Corrales, IHU with thanks to Alfonso Salazar]

Argentina: Followed by a Luminous Object in Esquina

Source: El Litoral (Argentina) and PLANETA UFO
Date: August 20, 2019
An article by Francisco Villagrán for El Litoral

Argentina: Followed by a Luminous Object in Esquina

A number of incredible cases involving UFO manifestations, sightings and landings took place during the 1980-1990 time period. Some left ground marks and even an abduction was reported. Out of all of these, we present the surprising case from our files that involves a car chased by a luminous object outside the town of Esquina.

The city of Esquina in the province of Corrientes is located in the southern end of the province and was the location for many UFO-related cases, such as several sightings on consecutive days in the year 1995 adjacent to high-voltage towers. Some of the objects landed and left ground marks near Laguna del Pescado, there were sightings of strange lights - some of them near the ground - seen by many witnesses.

The case that concerns us today is precisely one of these in which Esquina became involved - unwillingly - in a series of strange unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings, together with Resistencia, Saenz Peña and Posadas, locales for these bizarre manifestations for a period of one week. A couple traveling in their car was followed closely by a strange luminous object: according to the witnesses, on Monday 22 February 1988, at approximately 22:30 in the stretch that goes from the town center and Paso Santa Rosa, Mr. Hernán Frette and his wife Alina Borel were eyewitnesses to what can technically be defined as a "close encounter of the first kind" according to the system implemented by researcher Joseph Allen Hynek.

At that time and traveling in their car, the couple looked on in astonishment as a strange luminous object tried to follow their vehicle. According to the couple, the object followed them round trip, as if providing an escort. They described the light as "very bright, lighting up everything as though it was daytime."

The car's engine did not stall, as is common in such cases, and this was due to the fact, according to witness Frette, that it was a Diesel engine and that the characteristics of its combustion and ignition system make it immune to the electromagnetic fields of these objects.

The quality of the witnesses, in spite of there only being two, precludes further commentary. Mr. Frette was the administrator of Estancia Santa Rosa and she was a schoolteacher, the daughter of a former mayor, and can be catalogued as "qualified witnesses", which is important when it comes to furnishing details about an event. It was just one of many cases that have occurred in the area and which, year after year, confirm the reality of the existence of the UFO phenomenon.

A Similar Case in Bariloche

An event similar to the above, but more frightening, took place more recently in March 1994 at San Carlos de Bariloche, when two young men claimed having been pursued by extraterrestrial creatures shooting powerful beams of light in the middle of a road late at night. Their names were Carlos Arriegada an Antonio Vergara, who supposedly saw lights that "appeared to want to crush us" as they walked toward the locality of Pilcaniyeu after their car broke down, forcing them to leave in on the road and set off on foot.

"It was all very dark," they said, "and a light in front of us started moving. I thought it was a man with a flashlight and shouted: "Hey, why don't you give us a hand?" But he didn't answer and the light became bigger and brighter, like a truck. It seemed intent or crushing us. We looked behind us and we saw two bright lights at our backs, but no so bright. That led us to believe that we were in the presence of extraterrestrial beings, no doubt about it."

Both friends stated that the lights were green and orange, some 15 meters distant from them and hovering some two meters in the air in absolute silence. The light in front of them was a sort of flashing beam and the ones behind them were fixed, spotlight-type ones, they explained. The youngsters stood frozen for an endless 10 minutes, holding hands, "because we were very frightened," as they explained.

The friends' car's breakdown was due to unexpected battery drainage. Prior to this, the gearbox had experienced mechanical trouble and the car would later suffer electrical difficulties. This was all due, perhaps, to the proximity of a strong electromagnetic field, doubtlessly emanating from the strange object nearby. When the car stopped - bereft of power and light - they decided to get down to try and fix the problem. But lacking tools, in the dark and without means, this was impossible. They decided then to walk to town for help, as it wasn't too far away. "We couldn’t do a thing, because they battery had died."

Deciding to resume their walk to town, both friends noticed that the lights - which traced patterns in the air - followed them slowly like a floating balloon. Vergara said that in the light of the paralyzing terror they had experienced, he told his companion: "All we can do is pray to God that we aren't taken, because that's what they seem to want to do." His friend did not reply. He was like a statue, still and mute. Gripped by fear and paralyzed by it, they saw how the lights rose slowly over the road, vanishing quickly into the starry sky. Once the shock was over, they ran toward the town and told their incredible story. The next day, some witnesses claimed having seen those strange lights over the town, flying at high speed, at the same time. Their testimony was important to corroborate the startling experience, and confirm that it was all real.

[Translation (c) 2019 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Francisco Villagrán, El Litoral, and Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO]

Argentina: UFO Research Organization Claims Interaction with UFOs

Source: Canal 13 San Juan (Argentina) and PLANETA UFO
Date: 08.13.2016

Argentina: UFO Research Organization Claims Interaction with UFOs

Guardianes del Cielo Cuyano has engaged in searching and recording evidence on unidentified flying objects in the airspace of San Juan (Argentina) since 2011. The organization was born in 2011, founded by a group of UFO enthusiasts. "Taking advantage of the fact that we have the mountains so close to us in Pocito, we were used to going there and a number of events caught our attention. When we began seeing things that were too strange, removing satellites, the space station and airplanes from the equation, we began recording them," says Jorge, a member of the group, which now boasts over 60 volunteers.

"We work with some very high-tech equipment, from our cameras to ground tracking applications. We started out with cruder cameras that we outfitted for nocturnal sightings, and as time went by we wanted to have a better video image. We acquired a densifier that is one of its kind in Latin America - a special camera that magnifies light particles. Any tiny object can be quickly identified," said the Guardianes.

As they told the Sucios y Desprolijas TV show, it is not necessary to wait until nightfall to see an unknown object. "There are many daylight sightings - in the afternoon, in the morning. What exists is a preparation of the area we visit. We normally visit areas we consider as 'hotspots', identified previously and in which people claim to see certain anomalies," according to researchers.

A team member recalled an occasion on Cerro Plateado around three o'clock in the morning: a flashing object was emitting certain flashes every 10 to 15 seconds, but was suspended in the very same place. According to the young man, the object remained there between half an hour and 45 minutes, and did not appear as an identifiable object in satellite identification software.

Moreover, Jorge, one of the researchers, remarked: "We have had the chance to see an object, aimed a laser pointer at it, and then received a luminous response. There are even a couple of videos shown in other countries and it draws their attention."

The San Juan "UFO hunters" say that their nocturnal skywatches are usually on Sundays. However, they are constantly researching the UFO phenomenon worldwide.

"There is life beyond earth, without question. This phenomenon has been manifesting on our planet for years. We have still not made contact, but have had the opportunity to know that they are not from here, and that encourages us to keep studying it."

VIDEO at: https://www.facebook.com/1196552700360937/videos/1834011139948420/

[Translation (c) 2019 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO]

Cuba: A UFO South of Havana (1968)

Source: Codigobelegeuse.blogspot.com & PLANETA UFO
Date: 08.16.2019
An article by Orestes Girbau Collado

Cuba: A UFO South of Havana (1968)

Those of us who approach UFO research in a responsible manner must not forget what the year 1968 meant within the world UFO context. August occupied a special place within the dissemination of the phenomenon in Cuba.

There was another sighting during that season which was added to others in the Caribbean at the time.

16 AUGUST 1968 - Bearing the suggestive title "Strange Object South of the Province of Havana", Cuban newspaper El Mundo reported the following:

"Our newsroom has received many phone calls showing interest in the flight of a strange object over the southern reaches of Havana Province. Many of these callers agree that the phenomenon was seen around six thirty in the morning on Friday.

"At that same time, the first multiple reentry vehicle warhead (MIRV) missile was launched from Cape Kennedy. It was known to experts as "Poseidon" with a radius of action of 4,800 kilometers. The rocket is far heavier than the actual Polaris missile.

"This newsroom contacted the Department of Astronomy of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, which reported that the object sighted bore no relation with any atmospheric phenomenon, and that its origin was nonetheless undetermined."

I am adding only two things: first, the object coincided in time, but not space, with the launch made from Florida (USA). It will suffice to look at a map of the Caribbean to realize the difficulty in seeing the American missile due to its flight trajectory. Moreover, why was the UFO not visible over the Cuban capital? Was it perhaps flying too low to be seen in Havana? Was it perhaps detected by radar?

This author is convinced a solid object was involved and not an anomaly witnessed from a given area in the Cuban southwest, when it could be shown that it ought to have been visible from the north, had it indeed been a rocket launched at the same time as the UFO sighting, as required by geographic latitude. The north would be the most appropriate area. It was not a phenomenon in the upper atmosphere, nor barium or sodium cloud (artificial) or some Aurora Borealis of the sort that is sometimes visible from our archipelago.

Nothing further was said, and it remains a mystery to this very day.


[Translation (c) 2019, S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Orestes Girbau, Martha Jacqueline Herrera (Código Betelgeuse) and Guillermo Giménez (Planeta UFO)]

Fabio Zerpa (1928-2019)

Fabio Zerpa (1928-2019)

Fabio Zerpa could best be described as the "dean of UFO research" in Argentina, with impressive stage and television credentials. His books included El OVNI y sus misterios (UFO And Its Mysteries -1976), Los OVNIs existen y son extraterrestres (UFOs Exists And They Are Alien – 1994) and Los verdaderos Hombres De Negro (The Real Men In Black - 1997). We thank him for his contributions to the research not only of unidentified flying objects, but the paranormal as a whole. May he rest in peace.

Cattle Mutilations: Mutilated Calf Found Alive

Source: Luis Burgos (ICOU/FAO) and La Arena (Argentina)
Date: 07.30.2019

Cattle Mutilations: Mutilated Calf Found Alive

A few days ago, news of another mutilated animal in the province was a cause for alarm and surprise for many. Today, Tuesday, a calf was found in similar conditions, but what is striking about this case is that the animal is alive.

According to Infotec, the discovery took place in a tambo (small farm) located 15 kilometers to the east of Realicó and some 7 to the west of Adolfo Van Praet. The calf's upper maxilofacial region is mutilated and it is missing the upper part of its muzzle.

The owners of the field in which the phenomenon occurred found the animal in this condition on Monday afternoon. The farm is called "El Boyero" and is located to the south of National Highway 188 at the Kilometer 466 marker.

The calf was born under normal conditions last Thursday - in other words, it showed no signs of injury. However, it vanished the next day and was seen again on Monday. It was in a distant lot and when they approached, they could see the injuries in question.

The animal presents not only an absence of the entire muscular part, but also its bones, including teeth. What is surprising is that the calf was found to have normal bodily functions and could be fed despite its inability to nurse. The owners of the property have no idea of what the causes of this event may be.


WARNING: The video of the mutilated calf can be seen at this link and it is quite sobering - https://youtu.be/aoHBAr8nH70


[Translation (c) 2019 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Luis Burgos, Investigadores de Campo Unidos (ICOU) and Fundación Argentina de Ovnilogía (FAO). Credit for the photo and video belong to INFOTEC.]

Argentina: CE-3 with a Stick Figure Alien?

Source: PLANETA UFO
Date: 07.30.2019

Argentina: CE-3 with a Stick Figure Alien?

The Café Ufológico Rio54 held on July 4, 2019 also featured an interesting CE-3 experience related by Javier Stagnaro and included by Mario Lupo and Rubén Morales in the proceedings of the session, which were posted to Inexplicata Contributing Editor Guillermo Giménez’s Planeta UFO:

“[…] and speaking of Salta, Javier Stagnaro brought up a hitherto unpublished case that he recently received from a friend. It occurred last autumn [spring of 2018, to those of us in the Northern Hemisphere – SC] at a rural home 7 kilometers from La Caldera, across from the Campo Alegre Dam. This is 27 kilometers from Salta along National Highway 9 leading to Jujuy.

“The owner of the house witnessed an extremely strange being slowly walking down the street at a distance of little over 5 meters from her wire mesh fence. The creature looked at her fixedly and was no taller than 1.5 meters. Its overall appearance was human in the sense that it walked erect and had two arms and two legs, but the body and extremities were very thin, “like the branches of a plant,” according to the startled woman. She only saw the being walk past, there was no light or sound involved nothing else to report. It was an otherwise quiet night.



“She was very frightened, and as she was alone, she brought her dogs inside and locked herself in. Javier asked her for a drawing representing the experience, and we reproduce it here. Given the unusual appearance of this silhouette, Javier looked for background information and recalled a case recorded near Victoria, Entre Rios, that Silvia Pérez Simondini had spoken about on a given occasion, concerning a being with a very slender physique – “with legs like a wading bird”, according to witnesses. He was also reminded of the praying mantis-shaped ‘insectoids’ described by such authors as Budd Hopkins, John Mack, David Jacobs or Gilda Moura, who also make one think about “branch-thin extremities.”

Once more, our thanks to Messrs. Lupo and Morales and Guillermo Giménez.

Argentina: An Interesting Anedcote from Café Ufológico RIO54

Source: PLANETA UFO
Date: 07.30.2019

Argentina: An Interesting Anedcote from Café Ufológico RIO54

[RIO54 is a UFO/paranormal gathering hosted by MARIO LUPO and RUBEN MORALES in the Avellaneda district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its monthly meetings cover an impressive array of subjects with a variety of speakers. An interesting case involving police officers and missing time was featured in the most recent session, presented by Carlos Vales.]

“Carlos Vales brought up a case that occurred near Cachi that he investigated in the days when he formed part of the Hemisferios-CEFU UFO group. It was after 0400 hours on 9 May 2001. A police van had left the town of Cachi and was escorted by a luminous phenomenon during a considerable stretch of its drive along National Route 22. The light became visible upon entering the Recta de Tin Tin in the magical landscape of Los Cardones National Park.

“The van drove along with its beacons lit. Inside the vehicle were three police officers plus two women in custody who were to testify the following morning at a court in the provincial capital. The light appeared bent on pursuing the van. It hopped, changing position quickly, and always remaining within view of the policemen. There appeared to be a sort of interaction or play between the light and the witnesses. As it came closer, it was possible to see that it was an intensely white source of light surrounded by intermittent lights of various colors.

“The driver slowed down to allow the light to overtake it, but upon reaching Cuesta del Obispo, a place where the road narrows down between two mountains, the phenomenon placed itself in the middle of the road, barring passage.

“The police van’s engines and lights went off. The vehicle stopped on the berm. A hundred meters ahead, perhaps, the intense oval light illuminated the road and its size surpassed it on both sides, allowing its diameter to be estimated at some 30 meters (98 feet). The three officers began feeling intense heat. Five minutes later, the object rose into the air suddenly, making a buzzing sound and hovering, again in full view of the onlookers.

“The van was able to get moving again, but the officers began feeling ill, affected by headaches and vomiting that caused them to pull over several times during the journey. Upon descending Cuesta del Obispo, they saw the object on high yet again and felt afraid, because at that point the road becomes winding, requiring drivers to concentrate on the curves. Furthermore, there were fog banks present.
“They finally arrived in Salta an hour later than expected, although there is no information suggesting a ‘missing time’ episode. Carlos Vales and his team covered the same road with two of the law enforcement officers who witnessed the event in order to reconstruct the harrowing experience on-site.

Vales invited those present at Café Ufológico RIO54 to listen and take part in his “Enigmas 2019” program which can be heard on Wednesdays from 21:00 to 23:00 hours on Radio Atilra’s (General Rodriguez) Facebook page.

Our thanks to Messrs. Lupo and Morales for this information, and to Guillermo Giménez for posting it to PLANETA UFO.

Spain: UFO Activity Over Cádiz - July 2019

Source: Planeta UFO (Argentina) and www.cadizdirecto.com (Spain)
Date: 12 July 2019
An article by José Manuel García Bautista

Spain: UFO Activity Over Cádiz - July 2019

[A report from our longtime collaborator JM García Bautista back to INEXPLICATA - we had the pleasure of translating a number of his articles for FATE magazine in the early 2000s and his work also forms part of INEXPLICATA's collection. We urge our readers to seek them out--SC]

CADIZ DIRECTO. Summer is a season of the year that invites us to spend more time outdoors, enjoying cooler weather on the streets during the pleasant evenings of Andalucia's climate. For this reason, statistically speaking, it is the time of year during which the most UFO sightings are recorded, strictly by definition - objects that are unidentified by the observer in the sky - where the case histories increase exponentially to the number of people in a given environment.

Thus, the month of July [2019] has yielded some truly significant sightings. The first among them - in the region of Jerez - involves a particular encounter. A group of youngsters on its way to Chipiona on July 2 saw a light appear behind their vehicle on the road, making them believe "it was another vehicle seen at a distance, but the light grew brighter and instead of two headlights, a single source of light was visible. That's when one of my friends said: "The guy on the motorcycle could cut his high beams" and I relaxed a little. What is strange is that when the light was nearly on top of us, and we thought it would pass us by, it took to the air, lighting my car from above, and vanished into the sky. That's when we began saying it was a UFO and I had to pull over to recover from the shock." These were the words of a thoroughly unsettled Alberto López. The encounter occurred at 23:14 hours. Given its high degree of strangeness, this event has not been satisfactorily explained.

The next encounter took place in the vicinity of Sanlúcar de Barrameda on July 6, when a couple walking along the beach around midnight witnessed a luminous object moving underwater. "It was very odd, like a blinking light making its way along the canal, by the line of buoys with green and red lights. It moved in a straight line, pulsating, and didn't stop moving," said Manuel García, who suddenly remembered "those shows by Iker Jiménez in which they discuss strange underwater objects and UFOs."

The final sighting was in the Bay of Cádiz itself. It was here, on night of July 10th to the 11th, that strange lights were seen in the sky, "moving randomly and with colors ranging from green to blue. They weren't drones. They were two individual lights. I fly drones and know what they're like, and besides, they were at a considerable height, it was impossible. They were visible at a distance. It lasted a few minutes, and then the lights descended as if they'd fallen into the sea and it was all over," said our eyewitness in an area in which experts such as Eugenio Belgrano have conducted considerable research and formulated conjectures on this area, which acts as a magnet to unknown aerial phenomena.

These are the sightings for a July that has been as unusual as it has been bountiful in encounters of this type. The UFO phenomenon keeps checking in on these latitudes.

[Translation (c) 2019 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO and Jose Manuel García Bautista]

Spain: Ministry of Defense Declassifies UFO Cases Recorded in Alicante

Source: PLANETA UFO and www.diarioinformacion.com
(News Item originally appeared on 10.25.2016)
Date: 07.25.2019

Spain: Ministry of Defense Declassifies UFO Cases Recorded in Alicante

An object plunging into the sea at Benidorm and others floating in the air just a few of the cases featured in the files.

The Ministry of Defense has published digitized versions of 80 declassified reports – a total of 1900 pages of “UFO Files” throughout Spain, including sightings that occurred in the province of Alicante or recorded by air squadrons based in this location.

Thus, the Alcoy-based Squadron 5 recorded the following incidents:

1975 – 28 July. 0530 Hours. An object flies over the EVA-5 radar installation at low altitude witnessed by several subofficers. A radar echo motionless over the sea was picked up shortly before.

1979 – 6 February. 2117 Hours. Mediterranean, near Baleares. Multiple lights sighted from the butane carrier Tamames; the EVA-5 and Pegaso radars pick up echoes over the sea. A possible exercise involving paratroopers, still to be determined.

1979 – 13 March. 1059. EVA-5 and Pegaso detect an unknown echo heading toward the Spanish Peninsula. Mirage III scrambled from Manises. No visual contact.

1986 – 26 April, 1800 Hours. EVA-5 observes an object plunging into the sea at Benidorm. The Guardia Civil (state police) is notified.

1986 – 26 July. 2300 Hours. EVA-5 picks up an unknown echo on the Baleares to Cadiz route.

In the document dated 13 July 1994, Jacar Aitana-EVA-5, under the heading “Sightings of Strange Phenomena in National Airspace’, states that it has no information on the 1975 and 1979 incidents, but it provides information on the following, garnered from the operations squadron.

It states that on 24 April 1986, at 0622 hours, strange objects were seen between 100 and 120 degrees between 100 and 110 miles. Median altitude between 8000 and 11000 feet. They did not change position.

Two days later, at 1930 hours, the radar switched to manual to track an unknown object a 180 degrees 40NM. 39000 feet. Two Mirage fighters are launched from Manises.

In July 26 of that year, at 1229 Hours, manual altitude for an unknown object at 150 degrees NM, 29000 feet.

In another file dated 25 June 1981 there is a discussion concerning a letter sent by a private party to the Air Force Chief of Staff describing a sighting of an object that flew over his apartment in
Alicante as he stood in the terrace. The document cautions that this letter ‘should have not merited the opening of a file, since even though a possible sighting was involved, the submitter’s intention was to recommend the capture of one of these objects for study. It should have been brought to a close with a timely reply and filed away as UFO-related correspondence.’

Spain: 33 Years of UFOs in Cataluña

Source: PLANETA UFO and www.elpais.com
Date: 07.25.2019
An Article by Marc Rovira (Tarragona 1 Nov. 2016)

Spain: 33 Years of UFOs in Cataluña

Ministry of Defense Allows Access to the 16 Files Under the Custody of the General Staff of the Army
Noon, May 13, 1969. Optimal atmospheric conditions at the Reus aerodrome. The weather report says visibility is perfect 10 kilometers around the old military facility. The control tower is guiding the takeoff maneuvers of a Boeing 727 on its way to Germany’s Dusseldorf Airport. Reaching for his binoculars, the air traffic controller on duty calls out to the other five people who are working the tower controls with him: an assistant controller, two mechanics and two soldiers squint to see the “bright motionless spot, circular in shape” that can be made out in the 727’s trajectory. The tower orders the pilot of a nimble two-seater gliding nearby to approach the beam of light to ascertain its nature. The incident, which was never explained, is one of 84 UFO sighting files declassified by the Ministry of Defense.

1,953 pages of reports cover 33 years of events similar to the one in Reus. The documents have been kept under the custody of the Intelligence Section of the General Staff of the Army and are covered with stamps that caution the “confidential” nature of the information. The care with which documents were handled is of another day, and as from this week, it is possible to consult them through the Defense Virtual Library (Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa).

Cataluña appears in 16 binders. Each of the files includes a summary of the circumstances of the sighting: place, date, remarks, conclusions and the proposed classification. Furthermore, the material accompanying the investigation is set on record, that is to say, weather report, photos of the sightings, sketches, drawings, press clippings and eyewitness interviews.

In some of the cases, the visual evidence calls for a great deal of imagination. For example, in the case of a sighting over the Costa Brava in August 1982: a resident of Blanes submitted a detailed dossier to the Air Force HQ describing his sighting of a “rosary of lights” in the sky as he shared an evening with friends from “his penthouse by the sea”. It was a “cylindrical object” some 50 to 100 meters in diameter, with windows, flying and “rotating on its own axis”. The witness provided sketches that try to provide a shape to something attempting to resemble a flying saucer.

There is also a story from a married couple in Sant Cugat del Valles who saw a round unidentified object in the early morning hours from the Arrabassada Highway. The object “gave off red, green and orange” flashes. The Air Force closed the file without investigating it.

UFO fans say that the vicinity of Tibidabo is a customary transit point for unidentified flying objects. One of the most extensive dossiers that can be consulted describes the warning given by the Abbot of Monserrat on 23 February 1971 – a day of intense activity for UFO buffs, as events took place from the Cantabrian Sea to Barcelona, including Madrid and Huesca.
The duty officer at the Barcelona Airport, agents of the Montistrol Guardia Civil (state police), a monk from the Olesa Monastery, the Abbot of Monserrat himself and up to 44 witnesses claimed seeing a “luminous spot” with a striking wake that plunged from the sky to ground at a dizzying speed. Subsequent investigations proved the “actual existence” of the event. However, it was not a UFO, according to the report. The object had been a rocket launched by the Centre d’Essais de Biscarrosse in France.

[Translation (c) 2019 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO and Marc Rovira, El País]