Imagine your hometown or city's entire population had to live on just one tenth of the land it used to—essentials like food and shelter would quickly go scarce, and it'd be just about impossible for the populace to sustain itself. This, in broad strokes, is what's happening to the flora and fauna of the Atlantic Forest, the second most biodiverse forest system in South America (after the Amazon).

Gracilinanus agilis, a marsupial species whose data is represented in this study [Credit: (c) Noe de la Sancha, The Field Museum]

Spanning the Atlantic coast of Brazil into eastern Paraguay and Argentina, the Atlantic Forest once covered roughly 463,000 square miles of habitat. Today, only 8-12 percent of this original habitat space remains. Deforestation poses a substantial threat to the region's native plant and animal species, and for mammals in particular, habitat loss is the main driver of extinction.

This, of course, is a troubling reality for scientists studying the Atlantic Forest's mammals. Worried that species are disappearing at faster rates than they can be studied, 96 of these scientists took collective action and wrote a paper published in Ecology cataloguing traits such as body mass, reproductive attributes, and tail length in mammals native to the Atlantic Forest.

To give a sense of the project's scale: the 96 co-authors of this paper compiled trait information on 39,850 individuals from 279 different mammal species and 388 separate populations.

"This is the first comprehensive dataset of this forest system's mammalian trait data," said Noe de la Sancha, co-author and research associate at the Field Museum in Chicago. "We wanted to create a resource so that scientists wouldn't have to dig through every natural history museum in the country to find these data. It's a stepping stone for future research, putting that out for everybody to use—it's a really big change in science."

Rodent specimens at The Field Museum representative of the kinds of specimens de la Sancha contributed to this study [Credit: (c) The Field Museum]

De la Sancha explained that when zoologists rely solely on their own data, they're limited in what questions they're able to ask and answer. An example: de la Sancha's research focuses specifically on rodents and marsupials in eastern Paraguay. He's done years of fieldwork, collecting thousands of specimens and authoring dozens of papers along the way. Still, if he wanted to figure out how the small mammals he studies developed their traits over thousands of years, or how they ended up in eastern Paraguay in the first place, he'd need to look for more evidence elsewhere—likely from natural history museums in the U.S. or abroad. This process can be time-consuming and costly.

"For this paper, everyone threw their data into this large, extensive collective," de la Sancha said. "We're putting puzzle pieces together. Having more data available, we can start to ask more interesting questions—questions of ecology and modeling that have more serious impact than cursory descriptors."

Fernando Goncalves, lead author and graduate student at Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) - Sao Paulo State University in Sao Paulo, Brazil, agreed with de la Sancha that this paper expands possibilities for zoological and ecological research.

"Ninety-six authors accepted the challenge to go back to their field notes and send as much information on mammal morphological traits as they could," Goncalves said. "And thanks to them, we'll be able to provide raw data for ecological and evolutionary studies for researchers all over the world."

Gracilinanus agilis, a South American oppossum whose species was represented in this study [Credit: (c) Noe de la Sancha, The Field Museum]

This paper is a critical—and urgent—step in the right direction, providing scientists with an expansive research toolkit as Atlantic Forest habitats continue to shrink. In turn, these scientists hope to draw attention to the Atlantic Forest as a region to protect, so that they can continue their studies and learn more about the impact of factors like climate change and human activity on these mammal species.

"There's still a great deal we don't know about our biodiversity—and as a consequence, we don't know what we're losing," de la Sancha emphasized. He hopes this paper, on top of serving as a resource for fellow scientists, highlights the importance of mammal species to the Atlantic Forest's ecosystem. He's particularly passionate about small mammals' role in this ecosystem.

"These are the dudes that drive the world," de la Sancha said, pointing to a shelf of rat specimen in his lab. "It's rodents. It's not primates, lions, bears. Rodents are the most important group of mammals, the base of most food chains. They disperse seeds for trees and spores for fungi. They also act as vectors for various kinds of diseases that might affect us. And the best way to target those diseases is studying the rats affected and why."

De la Sancha sees his contributions to this paper as "putting my grain of sand on the beach, so to speak." And his research, along with the other 95 grains of sand that comprise this paper, could make a real, tangible impact on how we study—and care for—the Atlantic Forest.

"Hopefully if these types of papers start getting attention, people will start to value what they have in their backyards," de la Sancha said. "This paper highlights the importance of this forest system, and that could potentially get locals pumped about conserving it."

Source: Field Museum [February 01, 2018]

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GENERAL SAN MARTIN, Argentina - Another animal was found mutilated this weekend, this time in a field adjacent to the community of General San Martin, belonging to Julio Zurbirgk, who believes the perpetrators are not human.

By Inexplicata 9-28-17

The bovine, a black Aberdeen Angus cow, showing the tell-tale signs of mutilation, was found over the weekend in a ranch some 15 kilometers south of the town by the property's owner.

According to Zurbrigk, the animal was missing its anus, tongue, eyes and jaws, displaying perfectly cauterized incisions. It was a cow about to give birth and in perfect health. The fetus remained inside it.

According to the livestock farmer: "Aliens were involved, without a doubt. This has been going for over 20 years and no one has offered any solutions. They must remove the organs aboard the spacecraft, because there was nothing strange to be found around the animal. One can also see that they must throw the animals from their craft, because they land with their legs backward."

He added that other animals avoid coming within 50 meters of the mutilated cow. "These cases are classic. I don't know how dogs are aware of them and come no closer."

He expressed surprise that no serious investigation had been conducted in this regard. "It's better that no investigation is performed than to do what they did years ago: put the blame on the red-muzzled mouse. Mice don't eat meat, for starters, and they don't exist. We have no doubt here that extraterrestrial beings are involved."
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The event occurred in 1995 in the Serranía Colorada, community of Joaquin V. González. Details were never officially disclosed.

By Inexplicata 5-27-17

Ufologists still remember one of the most widely known UFO events to have occurred in the country, known as the Argentinean Roswell. It was given that name by its similarities with the 1947 incident in New Mexico, U.S.A.

In the early hours of August 18, 1995, the domestic press reported the collision of an allegedly alien spacecraft in the department of Anta.

At the time, private pilot Antonio Galvagno witnessed a "confusing plot", as he would describe it, which kept the event from ever being solved. He said that he was having lunch on the day that the object fell and heard a loud explosion around 13:50 hours, which caused the entire community of Joaquin V. Gonzalez to shake. His initial sensation was one of fear, he told El Tribuno, thinking it was an earthquake, which cause the province to shake every so often. To his surprise, he took to the streets a few minutes later and saw a large column of smoke that made him think that an airplane or meteorite had crashed. The dense white trail was seen by dozens of local residence.

Curiosity motivated Galvagno to fly over the area in his two-seat aircraft. He concentrated on the area where the crash had apparently occurred, known as Serranía Colorada. The flyer saw a column of smoke which he described as "a cloud of soot with metallic particles. The search turned up nothing new. I found nothing."

Galvagno devoted the next two weeks to finding clues as to what could have happened, but without any positive results. According to his story, he met with a group from the Gendarmería Nacional (national police) who forbid him to continue the search, pursue the investigation or fly over the area.

However, the pilot decided to continue along with a group of locals motivated by curiosity. The news also reached the national television, print and radio media. It was brought up on programs such as the one by Susana Giménez and the late Jorge Guinzburg. Telenoche, Cronica and magazines like Gente dispatched correspondents to the area. There was never any official word as to what occurred and all that remained was a burned area measuring some 500 meters wide by five kilometers long.

The hypothesis by the pilot from Anta is that a craft - regardless of its origin - slid along the path. "Vegetation never grew in the site again and the area was closed off. Gendarmería and the Air Force invoked reasons of national security," Galvagno said. He and many other residents of Anta always believed it had been a UFO.

On November 27, 2009, a considerable part of the Department of Anta was left in the dark after midnight following a blackout which occurred at the same time dozens of witnesses reported seeing a UFO over the city of Joaquin V. Gonzalez.

In that instance, Daniel Barbosa, director of Radio Uno, told El Tribuno "that according to eyewitness accounts, the craft was gigantic, sausage-shaped and fully illuminated."

Citizens stated that the object flew over the power station for some minutes. "We were surprised that people from all over the city coincided in the description. Even stranger is that a blackout occurred."

The event occurred in 1995 at Serranía Colorada in the municipality of Joaquin V. Gonzalez. The details were never officially disclosed. Vegetation never again grew at the location and it remained closed off. The national police and the Argentinean Air Force invoked "reasons of national security."

[Translation (c) 2017, S. Corrales IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez and Daniel Díaz]

Source: Planeta UFO and El Tribuno
An Article by Daniel Díaz, El Tribuno

NOTE: The Salta UFO crash was one of the first major events covered by INEXPLICATA in its original incarnation (the Samizdat newsletter) at the time. It was reprinted in 2009 here and appears in the book Inexplicata: UFOs in Latin America and Spain available at Scribd.com. For details on the 2009 Salta UFO flap, please visit Giant UFO Causes Commotion in Salta -- Scott Corrales.
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The Argentinean Navy published a series of documents pertaining to a UFO sighting in Necochea in 1962. The documents present the eyewitness account of a truck driver pursued by a flying saucer in the vicinity of La Dulce.

By Inexplicata 5-13-17

CEFORA (Commission for the Study of the UFO Phenomenon in the Republic of Argentina) recently published an Argentinean Navy file disclosing the details of an important UFO sighting event that took place in our city some 55 years ago.

On August 29, 1962, Osman Alberto Simonini told his story of a UFO encounter in the vicinity of Km 28 of Route 86. Simonini was in his truck, driving out of La Dulce from the "Malabrigo" mink farm, property of Ernesto Arias. The case become widely known through an article in Ecos Diarios: the Navy commission launched its investigation through Capt. Omar Pagani and the files now form part of the private archive of researcher Roberto Banchs.

The incident took place at around 20:10 hours as Simonini drove at slow speed and noticed - to his left and following a parallel trajectory, at a distance of 3 meters and an elevation of 2 meters - an "artifact" resembling two plates linked by their widest sides, the color of gunmetal, having an approximate diameter of 5 meters.

The object projected red-and-blue beams similar to headlights from its lower section. The beams had a diameter of two meters, according to the description.

Simonini said that the artifact accompanied his truck for some 200 meters. As it did so, the driver noticed that the grass moved as well, proof of its low altitude and some sort of "air or energy" expelled from its lower section.

The object overtook the truck after the 200 hundred meters, racing ahead some 600 meters along the shoulder at low altitude. Upon reaching Km 26, it made a sharp right-angle turn into a seedbed. Simonini followed it and saw the object had stopped at an altitude lower than one meter. He stopped his truck and got up, and tried to approach the fence separating the field from the road, placing his hands on the wire only to find that the material was hot. He removed his hands, set them down again, only to find that [the wire] was even hotter. He moved some meters along, ascertaining that the wire there was completely cold.

Two minutes later, the object took up at high speed and vanished into the sky.

The witness stated his case to the border superintendent, the head of the federal police delegation, and Air Force officers in Mar del Plata with the support of notary Juan José La Terza, who stated that the following verbatim response was received when the incident was brought up [with these authorities]:

"The officers specializing in these studies told me there was nothing extraordinary about the event, as this kind of phenomenon was already accepted as real, and that the scientific world was waiting for the next stage: making contact with these artifacts."

At the time, Guillermo Gimenez (a member of CEFORA [and INEXPLICATA's contributing editor for Argentina]) conducted an exhaustive on-site investigation in the area, after Juan José La Terza got in touch with him. The article can be found here (in Spanish).

The documentation contains the report by notary La Terza, who acted as a sort of attorney-in-fact for witness Simonini.
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Nearly 40 sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) reported in Argentina during 2016 were explained away as some natural phenomenon by those who took the photo or witnessed the event

By Inexplicata 12-26-16

reported, according to a commission of the Argentinean Air Force (FAA).

The Comisión de Estudio de Fenómenos Aeroespaciales (CEFAE) is an agency attached to the Argentinean Air Force. It has operated since 2011 in an office shared by monitors that follow satellites in real time, along with the debris of the Soviet space station Salyut 7, which crashed in the Province of Entre Rios in February 1991.

Ruben Lianza, who is in charge of CEFAE, explained that they provide "an open public service that enables citizens to clarify UFO sightings they may have recorded. “We employ all the tools at our disposal to identify each case as precisely as possible. It isn't that we're looking for alien life in the photographs."

With 40 years' experience in his favor, the specialist explained that "many people manage to take photos when they see something in the heavens that they can't explain, and others notice objects they did not expect to see, seemingly in flight, in photos they've taken. In such cases, many get in touch with us in the hope that we will identify these flying objects."

"There are thousands of other objects having a commonplace origin that cause people to become confused. For that reason, this commission employs the term 'aerospace phenomena' rather than the ill-used acronym UFO."

Lianza pointed out that "at least seven different kinds of explanations can be identified. Some are of an optical nature, being external or internal lens flares, particles or drops on the lens or sensor errors. Others are biological, birds or insects flying across the camera or creating optical illusions by having been taken at very low shutter speeds. There are also astronomical causes, such as the moon in broad daylight, for instance, or a star, planet or even the occasional shooting star, the sun reflecting off communication satellite mirrors, aircraft flying during daytime or nighttime hours or experimental balloons," he added.

For the moment, 40 per cent of the cases present in the report are attributable to biological causes, 37.1 per cent to causes linked to camera effects, while 5.7 per cent corresponds to astronomical causes and 2.9 per cent are attributable to satellites.

The commission makes use of three satellite and astronomical tracking software programs - Orbitron, Satflare and Stellarium - in analyzing cases. These record the exact orbit in real time with the possibility of delayed mode simulation for satellites and heavenly bodies. This allows reproduction of the conditions existing in the skies at the exact time and date at which the phenomenon was reported.

"When people see things at the edge of their visual field, the brain completes the missing information by resorting to the imagination. This can happen to a person with no aeronautical experience as well as to the most experienced pilot. It is for this reason that all the cases we receive must be accompanied perforce by photo, video or material evidence."

Source: Planeta UFO, TELAM and Diario de Cuyo Date: 12.26.2016

[Translation (c) 2016 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO and Diario de Cuyo]
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The purpose of CEFAE is to research the possible causes of unidentified flying object sightings, and publish a report with the conclusions of cases that have been solved.

On September 15, the head of the Aerospace Phenomena Study Commission (CEFAE), Commodore (R) Ruben Lianza, held a talk on the subject of "aerospace phenomena research methods" at the Centro Cultural de la Ciencia in Buenos Aires's Palermo district.

By Lic. Florencia Sosa Inxplicata 10-4-16

The purpose of CEFAE is to research the possible causes of unidentified flying object sightings, and publish a report with the conclusions of cases that have been solved.

During his presentation, Commodore Lianza described how he developed an interest in aerospace observations and mentioned that upon entering the Air Force, he devoted himself to unusual air traffic phenomena. He personally looked into cases involving ground marks, photographing a circle in the grass of a ranch and a "spot" on the Pajarillo Mountains.

According to the expert, Air Force files on the study of phenomena go back to 1968, and research fell under the Aeronautical Intelligence Service. Subsequently, in 1979, the National Space Investigation Commission was created with the aim of investing cases involving space junk. This commission operated until 1987. In 2011, the Air Force General High Command Created the Aerospace Phenomena Study Commission (CEFAE)

"CEFAE's problem consists in identifying an initially unidentified phenomenon. A case cannot be investigated if its two components are not present: the eyewitness report and the proof. This vital, because many ufologists have devoted their lives and millions of dollars to study cases only with eyewitness accounts and no evidence," he explained.

The importance of distinguishing between unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and identified flying objects (IFOs) was also stressed duirng the session. According to the official, identifying an object is due to the experience of the researchers who look into similar cases, along with the application of new computer tools.

"Research is absolutely necessary. The scientific method seeks to operate with relevant operation. If it is historic, it describes what it was; if it is descriptive, it interprets what it is, and if it is experimental, it describes what will be," explained Commodore Lianza.

He stated that research into the UFO phenomenon is descriptive, as it requires identifying the cause of the sighting.

Photos and videos go through an initial filter, in which the evidence is immediately identified as "an optical phenomenon, a camera effect, an astronomical, aeronautical, astronautical, meteorological or geological cause, or even a biological cause such as birds or insects, although there can also be unusual aerial phenomena that we are not aware of."

CEFAE's director explained that the method he recommends in finding an answer to these phenomena is composed of a hypothesis, initial causes, suspected causes and a conclusion. These reports are published at the official website of the Argentinean Air Force every year during the first week of December.

"Research is of critical importance, as it allows us to make contact with reality in order to understand it better," Commodore Lianza stated, adding: "Out of thousands of cases researched throughout the world, less than 5% remain unidentified."

"The research methodology causes us to make a double effort to ascertain not only what the UFO was, but also to find out what it wasn't. Therefore, a thorough knowledge of the identifiables, the IFOs, is essential to dismiss them," explained the officer, adding: "To be a good ufologist, you must first be a good ifologist."

He went on to add that human emotions, erroneous identification and optical illusions also come into play in the UFO phenomenon.

"To me, progress consists in going from UFO to IFO, even if it's an alien spaceship, because now it's identified with a name. What's regrettable about the past 69 years is that people use the acronym UFO as EFO (Extraordianry Flying Object). They use it as a synonym, when it isn't."

CEFAE has two areas of research that are pivot around intramural investigation (desk research) and extramural (field research). "Desk research involves a review of data, processing of eyewitness interviews and photographic analysis. This is what CEFAE does practically every day." In turn, the Commodore declared that several methods are employed in determining the cause of the object. In some cases, the distance between the object to the camera is computed, or its trajectory, or whether it is an internal optical reflection. Delivery of the original image, uncropped and without post-production is an indispensable requirement.

"The true challenge in observing space phenomena is to see what it was, whether or not it was extraterrestrial," remarks the expert. "We are obligated to give a sensible answer to the people. The idea is that CEFAE should not be perceived as a mere explainer, because explaining is the final stage of a process. It should be perceived as a clarifying organization."

[...]

Throughout the length of the presentation, he stressed the importance to make government officials and society at large aware of the need to create a contingency plan for cases involving falls of radioactive space junk.

Finally, he highlighted the importance of pursuing research into aerospace phenomena to facilitate its recognition and case analysis. In this regard, CEFAE is engaged in the inescapable task of training human resources, an initiative that is being achieved through Air Force courses under the Curso de Transcendencia del Poder Aeroespacial Nacional (CTPAN).

"To date, there exists no scientifically validated evidence that there are spaceships flying over our planet (...) but what we do have are the eyewitness accounts of UFOs, eyewitness reports that are real and deserve as factual and accurate a response as possible," concluded Commodore Lianza, adding: "Let us remember that when people see something at the far end of their visual field, the brain completes the information by resorting to imagination."

The chat ended with a round of questions in which those present indicated their interest in the subject, and went into detail about the work carried out by the Aerospace Phenomena Study Commission.
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Strange circles were found 30 years ago on a field belonging to the Parodi family. Residents saw incandescent lights traveling at high speed

Inexplicata 3-25-16

“We have seen something that fills us with intrigue and astonishment. It is hard to explain it in words,” wrote a reporter for the La Manana de 25 de Mayo newspaper three decades ago.

The reason for his bewilderment was the discovery of eight circles, measuring between 10 and 20 meters in diameter, at a field owned by Juan Carlos Parodi in the locality of Uribelarrea.

The slightly oval circles were clearly demarcated on the ground with scorched grass around them and marks left by some sort of rectangular landing gear. The white mushrooms found throughout the sector were also scorched.

Similar markings were found at a field adjacent to Parodi’s, although La Mañana did not mention the owner’s name.

Another resident of Uribe, Marques Pinto, said that on the night the strange circles appeared he saw very bright lights moving away at high speed. At around this time, 17 September 1985, a strange apparition also startled residents of Cañuelas. A luminous shape flew over the northern end of the city. The object, which was picked up by radar towers at Ezeiza Airport and the Argentinean Navy, was seen in districts of the southern region as well. To some it was nothing more than a research balloon belonging to Australia’s EOLOS plan, but a large part of the population believed it was a UFO.

Our friend and colleague Luis Burgos of the Fundacion Argentina de Ovnilogia adds: "I investigated this case 33 years ago. It took place on the night of Novemeber 4-5, 1983, with a total of 42 UFO landing marks. A remarkable event of a multiple descent, with witnesses - local men playing cards at an adjacent field took the lights to be poachers. The time was 0200 hours in the early morning of November 5th. The fog lifted around 11:00 am and the 42 ground marks appeared: two horse-shoe shaped forms, 23 meters in diameter, scattered throughout the Parodi field."

* [Translation © 2016, S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO]

* Source: http://www.infocanuelas.com/reportajes/el-dia-que-los-ovnis-invadieron-uribelarrea and Planeta UFO
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Researchers of UFO-related phenomena refer to these events as "skywatches" - meetings held in various parts of the country to observe and investigate so-called UFO hotspots. The main goal is, of course, a direct experience with unidentified flying objects. Within this framewoerk, one of the most spectacular occurences happened in the locality of Punta Piedras, facing the River Plate in Buenos Aires.

By Pachi La Fata Inexplicata 3-22-16

It was there that several experts on the subject were able to witness a reddish sphere rise out of the water, climb several meters, change its color to orange and finally speed off toward Uruguay. The incredible case occurred on July 25, 2009 at a site north of the Bay of San Borombón, and was witnessed by members of the GABIE Group, whom aside from UFO research, also engage in astronomy and other scientific studies. They were Pablo Lasa, Ariel Cóppola, Martín Costes, Fernando Lisardo, Nicolas Lisardo y Catriel, who were present throughout the event.

According to the story, the sigthing took place from a camp ground known as El Desanso in Punta Piedras. "The skywatch had been scheduled for the previous weekend, but it was necessary to reschedule it due to weather conditions," they explained.

Martín Costes was the group member who was best able to see the phenomenon in detail. "Pablo, Ariel, Fernando and their two children were near me by the bonfire, discussing subjects pertaining to astronomy, when the conversation took a turn and we started talking about UFOs," he said, adding: "After a few minutes of conversation, I got up to import weather data from the weather station in my tablet. So I turned my back to the fire, which was only a few meters from the base. I was standing up, when something told me to go toward the river. I decided to pay attention and did so."

At that moment, an episode he'll never forget too place. "When I got there, only a few seconds after seeing the river, I saw a brillant red sphere rising out the water, approximately 20 meters long. It moved repeatedly from left to right, parallel to the river," he explained in detail. According to the witness, "the object began disappearing little by little until distance kept us from seeing it. Bear in mind that other people in the campground didn't hear it, althought they were only five meters from where I was standing."

"In other words, I wasn't able to hear the conversations of my companions by the bonfire. That's not all. Another thing to highlight is that I was in shock for almost 15 minutes after the sighting. This happened at 1 in the morning," remarked the specialist.

Costes, whose story was broadcast on the Codigo OVNI radio show, explained that "the entire episode lasted some 3 minutes. My companions managed to see around 30 seconds to a full minute, perhaps, of the phenomenon."

* [Translation (c) 2016, S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO]
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Less than 70 miles from the provincial seat of Salta, between the communities of Cachi and La Poma, along Route 40, can be found a "Pleiadan base" whose occupants claim to be the embodiment of extraterrestrial beings from some distant corner of the universe.

By Inexplicata 3-16-16

Amid messages and entreaties to return to primitive simplicity, the residents claim having reached this northern Argentinean province to herald "the end of an evolutionary cycle".

Reaching this location is not easy, as the curious must first cross a set of gates and walk along meandering paths.

The homestead, little more than hills and blocks, is hidden in the vegetation. Upon arrival, a bell dangling from a post allows visitors to make their presence known.

There is little recorded material on the site, but in a recent interview, the "Pleiadans" welcomed a reporter with the following disquieting statement: "We were expecting you. Our brothers of light told us you would be coming."

According to the news media in Salta, there are over 30 "Pleiadan" communities and only two in that province: another in Cafayate and this one, in the Andean "puna", in a land that can only be used for walking and praying to the aliens.
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A pilot from a well-known airline saw a strange "object" as he was about to land in Rio Grande, this object was in an area "forbidden" or restricted to air traffic at such a time, and the pilot asked the tower if they could pick up any "air traffic." The tower replied that no abnormalities were detected and then asked the pilot if the object in question was in the airliner's flight path. The pilot said no, that it was over to one side, and was then given permission to land by the tower, which requested a report, which was recorded.

By Inexplicata 3-3-16

This event became known through the Facebook page of renowned tour operator José Heredia, who reported the occurrence, given that his position allows him to have access to communications betwen airline pilots and the control tower.

The news was published by Infofuegina (web site) but lacking any certainty or particulars on the case, he decided to set the note aside until more information could be gleaned. But while the entry was still active, it caught the attention of the Reportes Ovni Argentina NGO, two of whose members contacted journalist Ramon Taborda Strusiat, who had only heard vague reports from listeners to a radio station that broadcasted the event. The source, however, was unknown until it was finally discovered, and it was the Facebook page itself.

Jose Heredia wondered: A UFO in the skies of Rio Grande? He said that while working at home, "getting ready to go to the banking district" and "listening to the Control Tower frequency of the Rio Grande Airport as always, following the path of air operations in the city, he suddenly heard a private aircraft pilot's report to the air traffic controller on duty regarding alleged 'traffic' in his air corridor (the airplane's path) which had not been reported."

Heredia added: "The reply was not long in coming. There should not be any traffic whatsoever in that corridor at the time. In other words: an unidentified flying object report in the vicinity of our city."

"In fact, ANAC personnel asked the pilot to leave a written record at the Flight Plan Office upon his arrival. Verbatim, from half an hour ago...approximately," Heredia wrote at 11:48 hours on 17 February 2016, which suggests that the event occurred at 11:20 that morning.

Meanwhile, according to the Jesus Leguizamo of the Reportes Ovni Argentina NGO, one of the group’s members managed to contact the pilot in Buenos Aires, but he refused to go public with the story.

* [Translation (c) 2016 S.Corrales, Institute of Hispanic Ufology (IHU)]
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When Mauricio Macri became the new President of Argentina, his administration decided to shut down several pet projects of his predecessor, Christina Fernandez de Kirchner. One particular division is an Argentinian UFO agency.

By www.latinpost.com 2-18-16

In May 2011, Fernandez de Kirchner started the Commission for the Study of Aerospace Phenomena or CEFAE, which hired civilian and military experts. The new agency had the objective of getting more details about several UFO sightings in Argentina.

However, the agency’s almost five-year existence only came up with one report and 10 investigated UFO sightings. The one and only study consisted of 12 pages and concluded that nine out of 10 sightings actually involved a bird, soccer ball, helicopter, red lights of an antenna, a star, airplane, Jupiter, the moon and a combination of a star, satellite and NASA’s International Space Station. The 10th case was not resolved because the witness failed to provide a photo or video. However, the study stated that it may be a red laser being shown on a wall.

[...]

The CEFAE was also linked to the San Martin National University (UNSM), which public officials allegedly used for personal gain. During Kirchner's time, the school reportedly came up with a degree in aerospace engineering. It was believed, however, that the $15 million in funding the division was actually used to pay party activists and cronies.

Kirchner’s administration was ridden with allegations of corruption. The Macri administration is currently taking down various initiatives set up by its predecessor, which may have been used for purposes other than for the public. [...]
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LIMA, Peru — Even at the best of times, Argentina’s former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was controversial. Accused of populism, corruption, mismanaging the economy and un-statesmanlike mood swings, she also, apparently, had an interest in extraterrestrial life.

Simeon Tegel www.globalpost.com 2-15-16

In fact, in May 2011, she launched a new agency within Argentina’s air force specifically to research reports of UFOs on national territory.

Called the Commission for the Study of Aero-spatial Phenomena, or CEFAE in Spanish, it included both military and civilian experts, and aimed to get to the bottom of a spate of sightings across the South American nation.

Amid great fanfare, Brigadier Ernesto Omar Paris, of the Argentine Air Force, said at the time: “This commission will carry out a scientific study of aero-spatial phenomena. With this achievement, we have reached an important goal for our institution.”

Now that Fernandez de Kirchner’s leftist administration has made way for new president Mauricio Macri’s center right government, many of her pet projects are being wound down, and some are even being investigated to see how they spent the public funds they were assigned.
That includes CEFAE [....]
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