All language subtitles for Unidentified.Inside.Americas.UFO.Investigation.S02E02.Planetary.Threat.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

ANNOUNCER: This program is
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ANNOUNCER: This program is
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)

- [Narrator] Tonight
on identified.

- [Narrator] Lue Elizondo
expands his UFO investigation

to South America.

- Are they seeing the same
thing in the skies that we are?

- [Narrator] From never
before seen video.

- [Narrator] To an alleged
midair showdown with the UFO.

- Oscar Santa Maria
was given the order.

If it isn't ours, shoot it down.

- [Narrator] Is there a
connection to ancient sightings?

- They were being witnessed

by these people who've
lived on this land

for thousands of years.

- [Narrator] And what can
military officials there reveal?

- [Rubin] They think that I'm
covering up things.

Covering up?

- [Lue] What?

That for me was a
drop the mic moment.

(air whooshing)

- [Narrator] Everything we
know about UFOs is changing.

Thanks to a team led by former
Pentagon UFO investigator,

Lue Elizondo.

- That is real whatever that is.

- [Narrator] And former
top intelligence official,

Chris Mellon.

- This is a current
continuing phenomenon.

It's happening, it
continues to happen.

(air whooshing)
(static crackling)

- [Narrator] They discovered
five unique characteristics

that UFOs have in common.

They call the five observables.

And released
groundbreaking videos,

that forced the Navy
to admit its pilots

were coming face to face
with unidentified objects.

- [Male Reporter] The US Navy

made a shocking admission today.

- [Female Reporter]
Strange flying objects

caught on tape by their
own fighter pilots

are in fact UFOs.

- Something needs to be done.

- [Narrator] Now a new
wave of military witnesses

is coming out of the shadows.

- I'd be lying if I
said I wasn't scared ---less.

I never seen
anything move like that.

Shape, size, speed,

it's clearly unidentified.

- [Narrator] The team is
united on a new mission.

Connect the dots to reveal
the truth about UFOs.

- [Pilot] This thing had
no capability

like anything on earth.

- [Narrator] And warn the
world about the dangers

they might represent.

- [Chris] Carl Sagan
once famously said

extraordinary claims
require extraordinary proof.

He was absolutely right.

But now we have the proof.

(static crackling)

(plane engine humming)

- [Narrator] Lue Elizondo is
on a mission to South America.

Known for being a UFO hotspot,

home to thousands of
unexplained sightings.

(air whooshing)

(piano keys playing)

Chile, Argentina and Peru are
at the center of the storm.

(static crackling)

- In Chile, which is thought
to have the most UFO sightings

of any country in the world,

a Navy helicopter
reported this UFO.

It's Tic Tac like shape,

similar to objects
reported by US Navy pilots.

(static crackling)

- [Pilot] Look at this thing.

It's rotating.

- [Narrator] Elizondo's
first stop is Lima, Peru.

- Are they seeing the same
thing in the skies that we are?

And if so, that's yet
another piece of the puzzle

that this is truly
a global phenomena.

(city humming)

(car honking)

(traffic humming)

- [Narrator] He's learned
there's a retired general

with an incredible
story to tell.

- [Lue] I'm on my way to
meet general Spicer now

in San Isidro here
in Lima, Peru.

This military officer
happens to be former general.

And this is an individual who's
not only a trained observer,

he's also an instructor.

So, he understands aircraft

probably better than
most people.

So general Spicer,

have you ever witnessed
anything that left you

scratching your head wondering
what the hell was that?

- [Narrator] April 11, 1980,

La Joya Airforce Base
in southern Peru.

Spicer and a young lieutenant
named Oscar Santa Maria

are lined up for inspection

when a strange report comes
in from the control tower.

- [Narrator] A
large glowing object

is hovering outside the
basis restricted airspace

and isn't responding to radio
commands to identify itself.

- [Lue] You're talking
about almost 2000 people

in formation standing
on an airfield

watching as Oscar Santa
Maria was scrambled

to go intercept this thing.

- [Narrator] Santa Maria
takes off in the Sukhoi Su 22,

part of a fleet of
advanced fighters

Peru had recently purchased
from the Soviet Union.

- [Lue] A Sukhoi 22
supersonic swing wing Aircraft

variable geometry wing.

One of the fastest aircraft
at the time on the planet.

- [Narrator] As Santa
Maria Soviet made jet

screams over the base.

(jet engine roaring)

He maneuvers to get a visual
on the strange object.

- [Narrator] Back at base,

the giant glowing object
was considered a threat

that needed to be taken out.

(upbeat music)

- Oscar Santa Maria
was given the order,

if it isn't ours, shoot it down.

(jet engine roaring)

- [Narrator] Santa Maria
says the object accelerated

to more than 1200 miles per hour

and suddenly stopped in midair.

- And every time he tries
to get close to the object,

what happens?

The object moves away
he can't get close.

(air whooshing)

- [Narrator] Santa Maria says

he fired off round after round,

but the object appeared
to absorb the fire

with no visible damage.

- No obvious
scientific propulsion,

no engine, no
exhaust, no jet plume

or anything else that you
would normally associate

with a traditional aircraft.

- [Narrator] The
smooth orb-like object

which outmaneuvered
Santa Maria's fighter jet

is displaying two of
the five observables

identified by Elizondo
as being common to UFOs.

Instantaneous acceleration,

the ability to immediately

achieve high speeds,

and anti-gravity,

the ability to fly without
apparent propulsion or lift.

(static crackling)
(upbeat music)

- [Lue] A lot of what they're
telling me does reaffirm

information we've already had.

Particularly on the
five observables

continue to be reinforced
during my engagement down here.

So that for me is encouraging
because it shows that

we're on the right track.

- [Narrator] After
he returned to base,

Santa Maria created this sketch

which shows an object that
by all known laws of physics

should not be able to
fly or absorb gunfire.

- [Narrator] Documents
show a confidential source

inside the Peruvian Air Force

reported the incident to
the US Embassy in Lima,

which notified the Pentagon.

Why?

One theory is that the object
Santa Maria saw is not alien,

but American made.

Bill Scott is an expert
on top secret aircraft

and was an editor
at Aviation Week.

He believes the object could
be related to a US effort

to spy on the Soviet
presence in Peru.

- We had some satellite
surveillance, of course,

but you can fly some kind of
reconnaissance aircraft over,

get some pretty solid pictures,

that's even better.

- [Narrator] In 1980, the Cold
War was burning hot again,

and the Soviet made Sukhoi SU 22

that Oscar Santa
Maria was flying

was one of the most
advanced aircraft

ever delivered to South America.

Did the US send some kind of
advanced surveillance craft

to monitor the Peruvian Air
Force's new capabilities?

Some of the vehicles
that they might use,

drones of some sort,

they didn't care
if they were seen.

They wanted not only, let's
say the South American country,

but they also wanted
the sponsor, the Soviet.

So know we're keeping
an eye on you.

- [Narrator] Five years earlier
in Vietnam,

the US using a drone called
the Ryan 147 Lightning Bug.

- They used Ryan 147 for a
number of reconnaissance roles.

So they were just,

jet powered, rail launched,

they put cameras on them

and eventually over the years

they would put a lot of
electronics on there.

(air whooshing)

- [Narrator] Could what Santa
Maria saw

have been an advanced version
of the Ryan 147?

- I don't think that
would be any of these

Lightning Bug drones,

because they were a lot
more aircraft-like.

They had wings on them,

long fuselages,

typically had an
under chin inlet.

- [Narrator] What was
the bizarre object

that was allegedly impervious

to Oscar Santa Maria's
machine gunfire.

And can Lue Elizondo
connect the dots

to a sighting 40 years later

seen and this never
before released video?

(electronics humming)

(static crackling)

Coming up on Unidentified.

- I saw this bright light,

and I was like
okay, what is this?

I took out my phone

and when I zoomed,

I got to see this
circular shape.

- What's the likelihood

that this could be a
traditional aircraft,

scale of 1-10?

- Zero?

(static crackling)

- I think each individual
is a critical piece

to this jigsaw puzzle.

If it's not for their testimony,

then we're missing
a critical piece.

Ultimately, you can't
put together a puzzle

unless you have all the pieces.

(intriguing music)

- [Narrator] Lue Elizando
has just met with a pilot

who says he engaged
in midair showdown

with a UFO in
southern Peru in 1980.

- [Narrator] One theory

is that the object was the
US reconnaissance drone,

but the primitive
drones at that time

don't match the pilots
description of what he saw.

- [Photographer] I think
he's gonna be wearing

just black shirt.

- [Man] Yeah.

- [Narrator] And now
a commercial pilot

has come forward with a
similar sighting in 2019.

- [Crew] We're just gonna mic
you up over here really quick.

- [Narrator] He's asked
not to be identified.

- [Lue] I wanna
thank you very much

for having the courage
to come forward.

- [Pilot] Thank you.

- In this particular case,

this individual wants to keep
his identity protected because

he was afraid he
may lose his job.

First of all, what
kind of pilot are you?

What do you fly?

- [Narrator] The pilot
has flown domestic

and international flights

for the past 11 years.

- [Narrator] At about 2 am,

his Airbus A320 is
flying at 35,000 feet,

approximately 150 miles
off the coast of Chile.

- [Narrator] But this time
he sees a bright white orb

tracking the plane to the west.

- I would love to
see that video.

- The pilot plays the
video for Elizondo.

It appears to show an orb

inside another orb.

- [Narrator] The pilot pans
to the radar screen

to record his exact location.

- [Lue] I'm glad he
did that, that's smart.

- How long did you
observe this light

outside the cockpit window.

- Wow, okay.

- What you filmed there,
it's a real object.

Now I don't know what it is.

But you have,

that's something that
actually occurred.

Now, maybe it has a
terrestrial explanation,

maybe it doesn't,

but one thing we do
know is that is real,

whatever that is.

- [Narrator] But what was it?

The pilot shows a video

that appears to be
of the same object

taken two days earlier

and nearly 2000 miles away

over Peru's largest airport.

(traffic humming)

- [Narrator] The
Peruvian Air Force

investigated the incident,

concluding they were
unable to identify the orbs

seen over the airport.

- That is a pretty
bizarre looking craft.

That isn't like
anything that we have.

- [Narrator] But one theory

may provide a
simple explanation.

Over the past decade,

Google has launched a fleet
of high altitude balloons

to provide Internet access to
remote areas around the world

called Project Loon.

These large white balloons

fly above Peru as
high as 65,000 feet

and could have floated
from Peru to Chile.

- [Lu] So if this was, let's
say, one of these balloons,

would you have been
made aware of it

by a ATC?

'Cause their flight
safety issue?

- [Pilot] Of course, yeah.

- At this point is too early
to tell if what the pilot saw

is indeed the same
objects ever reported

over the Lima airport
just days prior.

There are some people that
are absolutely confident

it was a Google balloon.

There's other people said
there was no Google balloons

in that area.

So I think it's too
premature to tell.

- [Narrator] The cellphone
video makes it difficult to tell

if the object displays any
of the five observables

common to UFOs.

So Elizondo

sends it to a retired Marine
Lieutenant Colonel Chris Cook,

an aviation consultant,

and former top gun pilot.

- Hey there, Chris.

- Hey Lue, how are you?

- I'm doing pretty good.

- [Narrator] Elizondo
wants to know

if the strange
object in the video

looks like anything
Cook has seen before.

- Can an aircraft commercial
or military look like that

from far away?

Typically you would see
navigation lights, right?

- One of the things that we
do when we're at altitude,

especially flying out in
the middle of nowhere,

if you do spot another aircraft,

determining lights or
the landing lights on,

it's kinda like a courtesy.

But I've never seen
anything like that

where it's just
one spherical light

outside of maybe
a bright planet.

- [Narrator] Elizondo
wants to explore the theory

that the object might
be a Google balloon.

- I've heard of these things.

But why would a balloon be
illuminated that brightly

at that altitude?

And if it is a balloon,

then you would expect there to
be some closure on it, right?

Because it should be stationary.

It's a little baffling.

- One of the statements the
pilot made to me is that

he had the impression that
there was this oscillation.

Do you have any idea at all
what might give the appearance

of some sort of oscillation?

Are there aircraft that will
pivot back and forth or...

- Not in my experience.

I have not ever witnessed
any type of aircraft

at that altitude

that have those characteristics
that you just explained.

- [Narrator] But does it show
any of the five observables?

- When I look at
these incidents,

I'm not just looking at video,

I'm comparing it to
the five observables.

Extreme acceleration and
hypersonic velocities

and no control surface
flight surfaces,

no obvious means of
thrust or propulsion.

Is there anything in
that video that you see

that you say, "ah hah,

that's an unusual
performance characteristic"?

- This look like
nothing I've ever seen.

- What's the likelihood

that this could be a
traditional aircraft?

Scale of 1-10.

- Ah, zero.

- Wow.

- [Narrator] To cook,

the object clearly isn't
a traditional aircraft.

But what is it?

- In this particular case,
there's information out there

that does not neatly fit within

the categories of
information we have.

Doesn't mean it's
not relevant, no.

We have to take
all the data point.

Maybe it'll make sense,

maybe there's more
than five observables.

(soft music)

- [Narrator] The
Lima airport incident

is just one of dozens of UFOs

the Peruvian Air
Force has investigated

and then released their
findings to the public.

Is a level of transparency

Elizondo thinks the
US can learn from.

- When you look at a map

and you remove all
those national lines,

we're all connected.

We're all of Americans.
And at the end of the day,

it's really incumbent
upon all of us

to protect this hemisphere
from anything and everything.

- [Narrator] It's the
Peruvian Air Force's

Centennial conference

and Elizondo is invited to
speak to a group of Airmen.

- There are things
in our airspace

that are indeed unidentified

and they are real.

We are observing
vehicles or objects

that have no control
surfaces, no wings,

and no visible
form of propulsion.

My only purpose
really for being here

is not to make you believe,

is to ask you to report.

- [Narrator] When word
of Elizando's talk

reaches the highest office,

he's called to a meeting with
the head of the Air Force.

- [Lue] General Garcia
is responsible for

protecting the
airspace over Peru.

That includes every mission
from counter-terrorism,

to counter-narcotics,

to surveillance.

He has a huge responsibility

and ultimately, the
buck stops with him.

So this is for me a
very important meeting.

- [Narrator] It's a major
step in Elizondo's quest

to exchange information
with military leaders here.

General I'm coming here to you

as a citizen of
the United States

and a citizen of the world.

My ultimate goal
for meeting with you

is simply to emphasize
our willingness

to work with Peru

in a cooperative relationship.

- I would like to
congratulation to you

because you are
doing great work.

You will have the opportunity
to talk with another officers.

- [Narrator] The
general and Elizondo

discuss how the US and Peru

can jointly investigate
unidentified aerial phenomena

and how to share their findings.

- I'm very pleased
that you agree

that this should
be an international

cooperative effort.

- Si.

- Thanks very much again.

- Thank you so much.

- Thank you.
- Mucho gusto.

- Gracias.
- Mucho gusto.

- [Narrator] But for
now, for Elizondo

the origins of the glowing
orbs is still a mystery.

Could there be a clue in a
series of unusual orb sightings

spanning generations?

He's on his way to find out.

(static crackling)

Coming up on Unidentified.

- Friends, neighbors,
family members

see these things on a
regular routine basis

and they go back millennia

in oral tradition
talking about orbs

flying across their land.

(static crackling)

sic)

While we were in AATIP,
we cast a very wide net

we had some information
pertaining to Latin America.

But that information
was provided to us

via other individuals.

- [Narrator] Lue Elizondo was
traveling from Peru to Argentina

to investigate a series of UFO
sightings in South America.

Here in Patagonia,

people had been reporting
similar lights in the sky

for centuries.

Local residents so they
typically look like firing orbs.

(soft piano music)

(air whooshing)

- [Narrator] Recently new
lights have appeared in the sky

further down the road.

Andrea Morales explains.

- What did you think
when you saw this light?

- [Narrator] Could
these spinning lights

be the same objects
seen over Chile.

Elizondo uncovers
an interesting lead.

According to eyewitnesses, the
appearance of spinning lights

coincided with a foreign
object of a different kind.

(calm music)

- I was very
surprised to hear that

there is a highly sophisticated

Chinese satellite ground station

literally plopped in
the middle of nowhere

next the town of Las Lajas.

The question is, what in
the hell is it doing here?

(static crackling)
(people clapping)

- China spent $50 million

to build the 16-story antenna
and Mission Control facility.

The compound is 40 minutes
from the nearest town

and secured behind an
eight-foot barbed wire fence.

It stated purpose

to help the Chinese
land a spacecraft

on the far side of the moon.

- China is an
emerging superpower.

If you're trying to
gather telemetry,

say, over the
southern hemisphere,

you need a ground station
with line of sight.

So as they become
more active in space,

they need footholds
in parts of the region

and parts of the world that
they didn't have in the past.

- The local police
have informed us

that they're not even
allowed on the property

or even near it.

The only involvement they had

was initially when it was being
built during construction.

- [Narrator] US officials
believe the 450 ton antenna

could be used to spy
on other countries'

satellite communications.

But is it connected
to the appearance

of the spinning lights
seen by locals?

Could the lights be
advanced surveillance craft

sent by the Americans to
keep tabs on the Chinese

or are the Chinese the ones

watching the new
lights in the sky?

- Why is there a Chinese
grond station here?

Why is everybody so
secretive about it?

They have an overt mission

then they have another
mission apparently.

- [Narrator] For Elizondo,
the mystery deepens

with reports of similar orbs
see nearby in Buenos Aires

decades earlier.

Today, he's on his
way to investigate.

- [Chris] What Lue's
doing on these trips

is consistent with what he
did in the Defense Department.

Anything we can do to help
establish the validity of this

so that people have permission
to engage on the topic,

move forward to get scientific
and national security answers

contributes to that effort.

- Elizondo is hoping to
get answers from two pilots

who had one of South America's

most mysterious UFO sightings.

I'm here to have a meeting
with commander Hector Flores

and his co pilot.

He was a commander in the
National Guard

here in Argentina.

And apparently he
and his co pilot

were witness to a
very interesting event

which included potentially
some of engagement with a UAP.

Well, hopefully we'll be
able to see if there's any

similarities to some of
the other engagements

we've already talked
to other people about.

(static crackling)

- [Narrator] Coming
up on Unidentified.

- [Lue] Are 100% sure

that all of those you
have 100% answer on.

- Misperceptions

is 99.9% of the cases.

- You can close 100%
of your investigations

to 100% of your satisfaction,
but what does that mean?

I believe he's closed them all.

I'm not sure he solved them all.

(static rattling)

(traffic rumbles)

- [Narrator] Lue Elizando
is in Argentina

on a mission to investigate
multiple sightings

of strange orbs
across South America.

- [Lue] Señor.

- Mucho gusto.

- Igual,igual.

- Jorge, mucho gusto.

- [Narrator] He's meeting
with two pilots

whose bizarre 1972 encounter

had been kept
secret for 40 years.

- [Lue] I'm here this
afternoon to meet

with Hector Flores
and his copilot.

They were serving under a
dictatorship here in Argentina.

These were tumultuous
times for Latin America

and Argentina in particular.

- [Narrator] A military
junta had taken over

and had its sight set
on becoming

the region's super power.

- [Narrator] National guard
pilot, Hector Flores

and Jorge Torrecilla were
on a routine training flight

with a student

when they witnessed
something extraordinary.

- [Narrator] The pilots say a
large red and blue orb

suddenly appeared
over their plane.

- They're describing
characteristics

that we haven't yet seen,
or at least didn't come

through ATIP channels
in North America.

Particularly those
that really tend

to loiter for a long time.

Who's to say that there's
only five observables.

- [Narrator] The two men created
this drawing of the object,

but when their report
reached base officials,

they were ordered to keep silent

and the truth about what
happened was buried.

- [Jorge] Gracias amigo.

- [Lue] we're headed
to the Condor building,

the nerve center of the air
force here for this country.

- [Narrator] Elizando
has heard answers

to what happened back in
1972 may be found here,

in Argentina's
official UFO program.

Colonel Rubin Lianza
heads the Air Force unit.

- [Rubin] We are neither
debunkers nor believers,

since we are not chasing the
paranormal nor are we afraid

of encountering
something inexplicable.

- [Narrator] He says the 1972
incident can be explained

by an event that
happened the same night.

(engines roar)

On November 2nd, Argentina's
junta launched a rocket

into the upper atmosphere.

It was part of a lead up
to a secret missile program

and the pilot's testimony was
sealed in a classified report.

- And this is the
unclassified file.

They said, "We saw the object,
at heading azimuth 320."

That is exactly northwest.

And up to 25 degrees
above the horizon.

It is plenty coincident
with the only sector

of the sky where
that cLued should be.

- [Narrator] The launch
left a cLued of barium gas

that created a strange
purple haze in the sky.

- You can see the deployment
of the barium cLued here,

falling down, as it ionizes
the gas on top of it.

Ionized gas is the red one,
non-ionized gas is the blue one.

And as it falls, there is a
purple belt in the center.

- [Narrator] Like many UFO
stories in South America,

this case was wrapped
up in military secrets.

It often takes time, but Lianza
says he's found explanations

for every case that's
come across his desk.

- Right.

Are you hundred percent
sure that all of those,

you have a hundred
percent answer on?

- Misperceptions is
99.9% of the cases.

- [Narrator] Lianza's
program may be similar

to Elizando's Pentagon unit.

- And is this an Argentine
capability you have here?

- [Narrator] But
their conclusions

could not be more different.

- We're constantly looking
for new data, new data points.

Is there a recommendation
you would have?

- I don't think with
all due respect,

you're going to find the
Holy Grail of UFO evidence,

not even in an X-files
that are in a drawer

in the armed forces
of South America.

The fact that the case is
not solved is not a guarantee

of paranormal
explanations for them.

You know, all crafts have
to dump the remaining fuel.

- [Lue] Right, bleed it out.

- Bleed it out.

Think the approach
has to be changed

and it has to be changed
towards the scientific method.

- [Lue] Your approach,
it makes sense.

It's logical, it's unbiased.

- [Rubin] If you ever talk
to the independent witnesses,

I will appreciate if you
tell the same words to them,

because they think that I'm
covering up things, covering up.

- [Lue] You can close
a hundred percent

of your investigations
to a hundred percent

of your satisfaction,
but what does that mean?

I believe he's closed them all.

I'm not sure he solved them all.

Thank you again.

- [Rubin] Thank you.

- [Narrator] Coming
up on Unidentified.

Is there more to South
America's UFO story

than meets the eye?

- [Mark] A number of
the larger UFO groups

were actually set up to
provide sort of eyes on the sky

for the American
intelligence services.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Lue Elizando
is in South America

to investigate a rash of
orb-shaped UFO sightings,

and learn what they can reveal
about the UFO phenomenon.

Elizando's just
met with the head

of Argentina's UFO
investigation agency.

The colonel claims that all
of the countries thousands

of sightings can be identified.

- [Lue] Are you hundred
percent sure that all

of those you have a
hundred percent answer on?

- Misperceptions, it's
99.9% of the cases.

- [Narrator] Elizando
wants to know

what other governments
here can reveal about UFOs.

He's in Uruguay at the General
Artigas Air Force base,

home to the longest-running
official UFO program

in Latin America,
dating to the 1970s.

- This is an effort that
has been going on now

for a better part of 40 years,

and actually tends to
be a gold standard.

- [Narrator] Colonel
Ariel Sanchez

and Captain Marcos
Temesio run the program

and have agreed to
share their secrets.

-[Lue] Buenos dia.

Me llamo Luis Elizando.

Gracias amigo.
(gate squeaks)

- Great to see you.
- Hi, how are you?

Great to see you too.

- Hey great, absolutely,

thank you very much
for having us here.

- [Narrator] Elizando asks

if there have been
any orb sightings.

- [Narrator] Colonel
Sanchez briefs Elizando

on a case from 2011, where
a bright sphere was seen

over Montevideo and
captured on video.

The object has never
been identified.

- During my time in
the US government,

I realized very
quickly, it's imperative

that you have partnerships
and relationships

with other countries.

The more people
that we can talk to

and get more perspectives
that we can gain,

the better off we're gonna be.

- [Narrator] Following
the presentation,

Elizando sits down
with Colonel Sanchez

and Captain Temesio,
who drop a bombshell

on why they believe the
program was created.

- That for me was a
drop-the-mic moment.

You mean to tell me that
the longest-standing

official UFO
investigative agency

in the Latin American
hemisphere was allegedly created

at the behest of the US
government at the time.

What?

- [Narrator] Elizando
sees a connection

to America's legendary UFO
program, Project Blue Book.

- So it's okay for
you, US government,

to go down to Latin
America and say,

"We're gonna take
our Project Blue Book

and all the methodologies
that we use, investigative,

we're gonna give
you the handbook

and you're gonna use that,

and you're gonna establish
your own program?"

- [Narrator] Project Blue Book
was a series of UFO studies

begun by the Air Force in 1952,

in response to a rash
of UFO sightings.

For the next 17 years,

Blue Book studied
over 12,000 sightings

and found 701 cases that
could not be explained.

And the Air Force
officially shut down

Project Blue Book in 1969.

But has Elizando
discovered the US continued

to secretly study UFOs with
the help of other countries?

- The fact that we asked Uruguay

to establish a program
is absolutely indicative

that we thought it was
interesting as well on our end,

that we should be
looking at these things.

You think we're gonna go
ahead and tell a country

to do something, but we're not
going to look at it ourselves

or want their information?

Come on, that's not
the way it works.

- As part of the
ongoing Cold War,

South America just became
an intense flashpoint.

It was feared that
the Soviet Bloc could

then get a foothold on
the American continent.

- [Narrator] Researchers
like Mark Pilkington believe

the US may have quietly
helped set up UFO programs

around the world, not as
a way to look for aliens,

but to monitor our enemies.

- It's long been
suggested that a number

of the larger UFO groups
were actually set up

to provide, sort
of, eyes on the sky,

for the intelligence services.

- [Christopher] Our government
relies heavily on our allies

for intelligence collection
around the world.

So it doesn't
surprise me to hear

that they would be encouraging
the Uruguayan government

to collect more
information and assuming

that it would be shared with us.

- [Narrator] Did the US
take it even further,

actively encouraging UFO
sightings to distract attention

from covert operations
in the region?

- Ideas of UFOs and
extraterrestrial visitations

have been eagerly
adopted over past decades

all over South America, and
we might ask to what extent

those ideas were planted
as part of disinformation

or clandestine
intelligence operations.

- [Narrator] But even if
the US had covert motives,

how can that explain the
thousands of sightings

across South America,
going back decades?

Coming up on "Unidentified."

- [Producer] Do you
believe they're real?

- You know what, um...

(dramatic music)

)

- [Lue] I believe every time we
engage a foreign partner

on this topic it helps us
in our ultimate endeavor

for international
cooperation on this.

- [Narrator] Lue Elizando
has traveled thousands

of miles across an
entire continent,

trying to unravel the truth

about South America's
thousands of UFO sightings.

- [Lue] My motivation for going
down to South America was,

I wanted to know
what they've learned.

- [Narrator] He's spoken
to several eye witnesses

with incredible stories of
orb-shaped UFO encounters.

- [Narrator] Some suggest the
sightings can be explained

by US intelligence
tracking the activities

of adversaries in the region.

- We shouldn't be at
all surprised to find

that those ideas were planted
as part of disinformation.

- [Narrator] Others by
high tech explanations.

- [Narrator] But other
sightings are not

so easily identified.

- [Christopher]
Anywhere in the world

we investigate this phenomenon,

we're gonna find
most reports have

some sort of
conventional explanation.

What's interesting are
the reports that don't,

that we can't explain away.

- [Narrator] Like the orb
that pilot Oscar Santa Maria

shot at over Peru in 1980.

- No obvious signs
of propulsion,

no engine, no exhaust,

no jet plume or anything else

that you would
normally associate

with a traditional aircraft.

- [Narrator] And what can
account for the glowing orbs

that the Mapuche people
of Patagonia have seen

in the sky for centuries, and
a recent wave of sightings.

- [Lue] Could they be some
sort of Google balloon used

to provide telecommunications
to remote areas of Patagonia?

But then again, you know,

Google balloons don't
make right angles

and fly over the horizon
in the blink of an eye.

I'm just as perplexed now
than I was before I went down.

- [Narrator] Do
these incidents show

that UFOs have an
unusually strong interest

in South America?

Or are the people of
South America more willing

to believe in them?

- [Christopher]
Throughout South America,

the mainstream media
provides greater coverage

to incidents that
occur in those nations.

So this is more openly
accepted and discussed.

- [Narrator] For
Elizando and his team,

one sighting maybe an
anomaly, two a coincidence,

but multiple sightings
across several countries

and hundreds of years is a
pattern that can not be ignored.

- [Christopher] There've been
enough extraordinary sightings

that were corroborated
by many witnesses

and fighter aircraft, that
there is a category there,

I would say, that
seems to correspond

to what our Navy has
revealed and spoken about.

- [Lue] This area may
indeed be a hotspot.

- [Christopher] There has
been a lot of activity there,

and it answers one
of the big questions

that people often have is,
is this a US only phenomenon?

The answer emphatically is no.

- [Narrator] Elizando says
he'll continue his search

for answers wherever
it leads him.

- A lot of what they're
telling me does reaffirm

information we've already had.

So that for me is
encouraging because it shows

that we're on the right path.

I think you need to go into
this neither as a believer

or a disbeliever, just
collecting the facts.

And that's hard to do.

That's really hard to do,
especially when you come

from a background like I have

where you've seen
a lot of things.

Yeah, it's really tough.

- You know what,
with all due respect,

I'm not gonna answer
that question.

What impacted me the
most about my trip

to South America
was the realization

that they want to cooperate
with the United States.

Because it is a
global phenomenon,

it requires a global discussion.

Knowing more about the UAP
phenomenon may solve some

of the world's problems,

but it also may
create more problems.

I think it's too early to tell.

But at the end of the day,
it doesn't really matter,

'cause whatever the truth is,
that's what we need to find.

Leaving our heads
buried in the sands

is just avoiding the inevitable.