UFO Sightings in Guatemala

_{Illustration by Phillip LaPalme, Article written by Phillip LaPalme, Edited by Willow Coyle. All Rights Restricted.}

_{Chances are that if you’re reading this, you’ve watched a fair bit of Ancient Aliens. You’ve probably heard accounts of underground alien bases, the Mayan/Alien connection and other wild speculations of Extraterrestrials in Central America. What you may not be aware of is that Guatemala has a slew of documented UFO sightings that continue even today. I have in store for you a few wild encounters that have been reported.}

_{Perhaps the country’s most famous sighting, "The Guatemala UFO" is significant in that it was the very first known video recording of a UFO...ever. On the morning of October 6th, 1976 while filming a car commercial in the capital city, cameraman Manuel Juárez caught sight of an illuminated “balloon” type object which he was able to film for 51 seconds. Several people present at the filming witnessed the object, including staff from both the advertising agency and car dealer. The film was later examined at the local television station and some details about the behavior of the object were uncovered. The speed of the UFO was determined to be 35-40 kilometers per hour (roughly 20-25 miles per hour) — It was first observed to be at a height of 300 meters and at around 1000 meters when it disappeared. The video was aired on Guatemalan national television and apparently initially caused quite a stir. The hype was short lived; however, as the country still had its mind on the tragic earthquake which had occurred earlier in the year claiming the lives of 23,000 people and injuring many more. The video aired across all of the Americas and elsewhere in the world, giving it more notoriety outside of the country. The tape was later reviewed by famed UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek and determined to be a genuine UFO. A little over a year later, the video was presented to a special committee in the United Nations who later issued a statement regarding the need to investigate the UFO phenomenon worldwide. Linked below is the video so be sure to check it out for yourself! https://youtu.be/t7fRVe2BrWM}

_{In the mid-late 1980s, the Department of El Progreso experienced a UFO “Flap” (A series of similar sightings in a small area over a short amount of time). People from all over Guatemala would flock to the area to get a glimpse of UFOs in the night. Apparently, you could witness the phenomena on most nights between 7:45 and 8:15pm. The “objects” in this case came in a variety of forms and have been described as “Spectral” or as a “Luminous Phenomena”.}

_{One witness even described an actual craft. In July 1986, an anonymous woman captured a photo of a cloud-like vapor with two circular objects inside. This photo was the second UFO image captured in Guatemala. Later, in 1989, Juan Carlos Del Monte reported his encounter,”We saw two red lights far off in the distance. They seemed to be playing around out in space. Then, suddenly, one began to move. Within 30 seconds it was flying practically over our heads. It was bigger than a jumbo jet, and it did not make a sound. It was circular in shape, with one red light and three amber lights”. The commotion that the phenomena was causing eventually caught the attention of the Guatemalan government, military and police who set up observation posts around El Progreso where they could monitor the activity. It’s difficult to pin down when the activity began to die down; not much other information seems to be out there, but it’s for sure that Guatemala remains a great place to hunt for UFOs.}

_{In this next one, let’s skip ahead a few years and zip over to Jalapa, Guatemala where a classic Flying Saucer was seen above a church! (shown in the image above) One September afternoon in 2013, residents of Jalapa were surprised to see a saucer-shaped craft in the air only 120-150 meters up — Apparently it moved slowly and didn’t make a sound. Witness, Ligia R. was able to photograph the craft. She sent a report of her sighting along with the photograph to Eduardo Mendoza of Siglo30, a local radio station. Mendoza then had the photo analyzed by photography expert José Cabria who evaluated the texture, volume, rim and pixels. Cabria determined that the photo had not been altered, so the image could quite possibly be authentic! Despite there not being more information about this story I wanted to include it because it’s an incredible sighting with photographic evidence. We’re hoping someone out there could provide more background to this encounter and we’re curious what your thoughts on the photo are!
There are a plethora of other accounts out there, many of which include photos. Guatemala is rich with UFO history and ongoing activity. Feel free to dive down this rabbit hole of regional High Strangeness and don’t forget to tell us what you find!}

 _{References: 
https://www-deguate-com.translate.goog/artman/publish/misterios-ovnis/Ovni-1976-Guatemala.shtml?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/ufo/us_gov_iran_case.pdf 
https://www-deguate-com.translate.goog/artman/publish/misterios-ovnis/Ovni-Progreso-1986.shtml?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_sch=http
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-05-mn-184-story.html
https://www-deguate-com.translate.goog/artman/publish/misterios-ovnis/Ovni-Jalapa-Guatemala.shtml?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc}