Debunk this, Condon my dear

"UFOs in South America" is a DVD brought to us by UFOTV. The first episode, which deals mostly with Ecuador and Brazil, is available free on Youtube. The second part about Mexico and Mayan prophecies is only available on this DVD, so unfortunately I haven't seen it. This review is therefore based on the first part only.

I admit I was fascinated by UFOTV:s magnum opus "Out of the Blue". "UFOs in South America" is built around the same concept: military personnel and other respectable people talk about their UFO encounters (occasionally spectacular ones), and it turns out that government authorities habitually classify UFO observations and even videos of purported UFOs sent in by the public.

In Ecuador, investigate reporter Jaime Rodriguez waged a sustained battle to get his government to declassify UFO reports. His dream finally came true when President Rafael Correa appointed an official UFO investigation, giving Rodriguez full access to previously classified material. A kind of Condon Committee in reverse, since Rodriguez is a "true believer" rather than a sceptic - he sounds new agey and believes in Mayan prophecies about a shift in consciousness around 2012. Some kind of political conflicts between Ecuador and the United States are hinted at. President Correa is left-wing and closed down all CIA operations in Ecuador, which coincided with his sudden pro-ufology turn. Interestingly, Rodriguez had also tried to lobby a previous left-wing president, Lucio Gutiérrez (who later turned to the right). The documentary hints at an explanation: the demand to classify all UFO reports came from the United States military. With a more nationalist government firmly in place, the secrecy could be broken.

I admit that I'm somewhat ambivalent towards the evidence shown in this documentary. Some of the UFO footage is just too good to be true! Footage, as we know, can be faked - not to mention the staggering amount of ridiculous flying objects humanity sends up into the air every day... Perhaps it's just me, but somehow I found the oral testimony of the military pilots more convincing. Why would an experienced military pilot lie about being worsted by fast, luminous objects in the sky? The fact that both the US and other governments habitually classify UFO observations is also intriguing. Somehow, that doesn't square with the official scepticism towards the phenomenon...

The most sensational part of "UFOs in South America" is about Brazil. The Brazilian military supposedly organized a veritable exploration of the Amazon in search of UFOs. They found lots and lots of them, and even made contact with the aliens, at which point the Brazilian high command ordered the investigation to stop! The problem? This "Operation Prato" is still classified, so nobody can talk about it openly...

I'm not sure how to assimilate the Hispanic flying saucer situation, but one thing's for sure. The Condon Committee really is yesterdays news... ;-)