UFOs in the daily Press:

UFOs SEEN OVER 25 DE MAYO

More sightings this weekend in Gobernador Ugarte

The UFO phenomenon in the region of Gobernador Ugarte, parish of 25 de Mayo, is ongoing. Strange lights and maneuvers were reported this past weekend. One worker told the strange story of how the lights on his truck turned on and off by themselves as he stopped at a local ranch. Some residents say this is quite normal in the area while others express their fears.

LA MANANA spoke yesterday to Hector Labaronne, who has been filming UFOs for some three years now with his family. The "La Esperanza" ranch is where the greatest number of sightings and ground prints have been reported in recent times. This family possesses over five hours of video recordings of the lights and objects that appear in the night skies. The significance of these events has led to the screening on August 16th at 20:00 in the Sala Pablo Picasso of Capital Federal (Buenos Aires) of a 90 minute video of the Ugarte sightings.

- How long have you been recording UFOs?

More than three years now. The video to be shown in Buenos Aires is part of the five hours we've recorded. Almost all of the images are similar, except that some are on different days and nights.

- How long since the last sighting?

We saw lights last night (Sunday), also on Saturday, and there are some things that happen that are beyond the norm. For example, last Friday, one of the rangers who lives in a shed had a strange experience. At around 1 a.m., he saw a light, went outside, and realized that his truck's lights were on. He went to turn them off, but noticed that the pickup truck's lights weren't on. The light went out in the meantime. He thought it could be a loose wire and went to bed again. About an hour later he woke up to find his lights were on. This happened four times successively. He didn't go out after that because he was scared. The next day he remarked about this event and some people told him that there are "flying saucers" in the skies over this area, or that strange lights are seen. He says that when he went to bed, he could feel as though someone was running at the edge of the shack. We still don't know what it is, but we're sure there's something to it. This happened at the "La Esperanza" ranch.

- Are you accustomed to these strange happenings?

I see so many lights that we sometimes don't record them, because they look like the ones we already have. What I always want is to see what they are up close, which hasn't happened yet. The closest [they came] was 300 meters. The best days are when the sky is clear.

- Do people come to see this phenomenon?

There are many people who come to see this phenomenon and keep doing it. We sometimes don't have any contact with them because they seek the other locations. We always go to the same ranch. The lights fly right over Ugarte - many people of that town are seeing them. Since it is a normal occurrence, no one pays them much attention. A low-flying red light 100 meters over Ugarte is a normal thing.

- What time of year does this happen the most?

The colder it gets, the lower they fly. They can move some 30 - 40 centimeters over the ground. They don't leave traces. What we see are lights and sometimes a solid object behind them, like a suspended deep bowl. We've had them close, but when we get closer they move away - that happens always. They don't come over to where we are. They always avoid us.

- Are all the sightings in this area similar?

Yes. Many people are afraid. Not me, because if they'd wanted to do something to us, they would've done it already.

- What do you think about the presentation to be held in Buenos Aires?

It's great that this video should be presented in Capital Federal, since it has some very good images. This phenomenon is taking place everywhere. What happens here is that it occurs more often. I don't know why they like this place. People from Buenos Aires, La Plata, Cordoba - everywhere, have come to Ugarte.

The words of Hector Labaronne reflect what this family has experienced in recent years along with other residents of Ugarte. As this newspaper reported a few days ago, major UFO researchers have visited Ugarte.

The Fundación Argentina de Ovnilogia (FAO) has performed studies in the area since July 4, 2002, when senior official Aragonés indicated that he had seen UFOs in the area. At this time the national media drew attention to the cattle mutilations taking place in different parts of the country, cases which also occurred in Ugarte.

Research and eyewitness accounts have revealed sightings in previous decades. In the 1950's, personnel from Estancia San Jose del Socorro reported the surprising appearance of several circular marks near a eucalyptus forest. In the summer of 1971, a 12 year old boy witnessed the low-altitude flight of a strange aerial artifact. In the mid 1990's a local resident claimed having been taken aboard a spacecraft, providing details of his experience and showing marks on his arms.