Jump to content

Luis Elizondo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Luis Elizondo
Photograph of Luis Elizondo showing crossed tattooed arms.
Born
Luis Daniel Elizondo

Texas, United States[1]
Other names"Lue" Elizondo
EducationUniversity of Miami
OccupationFormerMilitary intelligenceofficer
Organization(s)To the Stars (company),Department of Defense,Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence,U.S. Army Counterintelligence
Websiteluiselizondo-official

Luis Elizondois a media personality and formerU.S. Army CounterintelligenceSpecial Agent and former employee of theOffice of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.

Elizondo has claimed to be a director of the now defunctAdvanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program,a program associated with thePentagon UFO videos,a claim supported by former senatorHarry Reid[2]but contested by both reporters and Pentagon officials.[3][4]Elizondo has also claimed to have held "an array of leadership posts" with theAdvanced Aerospace Threat Identification Programwhich has also been similarly contested.[4]Elizondo has subsequently appeared in various media, including60 Minutes,as a UFO expert.

Early history

[edit]

Elizondo is the son of Luis Elizondo III, a Cuban exile who volunteered forBrigade 2506,aCIA-sponsored group of exiles formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed byFidel Castro,which culminated in theBay of Pigs invasion.[5][1]Born in Texas, his family "moved to Sarasota around 1975". Elizondo graduated fromRiverview High SchoolinSarasotain 1990, where he was a member of theROTCprogram.[1]

In college Elizondo studied microbiology, immunology, and parasitology.[6]He later served in theU.S. Armyfor 20 years, during which he ran military intelligence operations inAfghanistan,South America,andGuantanamo Bay'sCamp Seven.Regarding his military career, Elizondo stated he "dealt with a lot of stuff, likecoup d'états,black marketterrorism,violentdrug cartels,all that kind of stuff ".[1][7][8]

Career

[edit]

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence

[edit]

From 2008 until his resignation in 2017, Elizondo worked with theOffice of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence(OUSDI) inThe Pentagon.[3][9]Elizondo claims that ending in 2012, he was the director[10][11][12][13]of theAdvanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program,aspecial access programfunded at the initiative of the thenSenatemajority leader,Harry Reid(D-Nevada)[14]to investigate aerial threats includingunidentified aerial phenomena.[12]Elizondo told a reporter he thought that he might have been selected for AATIP because of his scientific background, work as a counterintelligence agent protecting American aerospace technology, and lack of interest inscience fiction.[6]

According to theDepartment of Defense,the AATIP program ended in 2012 after five years. Elizondo claims he worked with officials from theU.S. Navyand theCIAout of his Pentagon office for this program until October 2017, when he resigned to protest what he characterized as "excessive secrecy and internal opposition".[9]Elizondo asserts that "underestimating or ignoring these potential threats is not in the best interest of the Department no matter the level of political contention."[8]TheNew Yorkerreports that Elizondo was hired to take over the program, which was an outgrowth of a government project awarded to businessman and paranormal enthusiastRobert Bigelow,ostensibly to examine the future of warfare, but reporting almost exclusively about U.F.O.s, including "a photo of a supposed tracking device that supposed aliens had supposedly implanted in a supposed abductee".[15]

His position in the AATIP was questioned byThe Interceptand challenged by Pentagon officials, with spokesperson Christopher Sherwood saying Elizondo "had no responsibilities with regard to the AATIP program while he worked in OUSDI, up until the time he resigned effective 10/4/2017."[3]In response, Elizondo filed a complaint with the agency's inspector general claiming "a coordinated campaign to discredit him for speaking out" including "Pentagon press statements asserting he had no official role in UFO research, even after his role was officially confirmed". In the inspector general's complaint, Elizondo also stated that he was the target of "a personal vendetta from a Pentagon rival".[16][17][18]Senator Reid sent a letter toNBC Newsstating "I can state as a matter of record Lue Elizondo's involvement and leadership role in this program".[6]

To The Stars and media appearances

[edit]

After resigning from DOD, Elizondo in October 2017 joinedTo the Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences.[19]Elizondo also distributed three declassified videos to the press that were made by pilots from theUnited States Navyaircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt which became known as thePentagon UFO videos.[20][21]The release was accompanied by the first mainstream press reporting on the existence of the AATIP.[9]In April 2019, the Navy acknowledged drafting new guidelines for pilots and other personnel to report encounters with "unidentified aircraft", and Elizondo toldThe Washington Postthat it was "the single greatest decision the Navy has made in decades".[22]The classified nature of the videos and the validity of Elizondo's authorization to distribute them were questioned.[8][23][24]In April 2020, theUnited States Department of Defensereleased the videos prompting Elizondo to comment, "We are fueled by the Pentagon's significant actions and hope this encourages a new wave of credible information to come forward".[25]According to Gideon Lewis-Kraus, Elizondo initially explained to the Pentagon in a memo that the videos would "help educate pilots and improve aviation safety", but in later interviews he stated that his goal was to shine light on the program he ran for seven-years to "collect and analyze reported UFO sightings". After joining To the Stars, Elizondo announced they were, "'planning to provide never-before-released footage from real U.S. government systems—not blurry amateur photos but real data and real videos'".[15]Elizondo believes UAPs might be from another dimension, they might use hydrogen found in water to "warp space time", and the US government may be in possession of "exotic material" associated with UAPs.[6]

AHistory Channeldocuseries titledUnidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigationproduced byTo the Starsfeatures Elizondo and others who claim affiliation with AATIP.[26][27][28][29][30]

Elizondo, along withChristopher Mellonand Steve Justice, left To the Stars in late 2020, saying "Tom [De Longe] is really focused on the entertainment side, so there's not a whole lot for Chris, Steve and I to do [...] Our talents lie in engaging governments,Congressand international organizations, and we're ready to shift into second gear. Entertainment is one way to do it, but it's not comprehensive. "[1]

In the summer of 2021 Elizondo appeared on theCBS Newsprogram60 Minutesin a segment titled "UFOs regularly spotted in restricted U.S. airspace" in which he was interviewed byBill Whitaker,who included interviews with Christopher Mellon and twoU.S. Naval Avaitors.[31][32]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdeCox, Billy (January 3, 2021)."From the shadows into the light – the man who broke the UFO embargo grew up in Sarasota".Herald-Tribune.
  2. ^"File:(Attachment 19) 20210426 Senator.Reid Lue.Elizondo.AATIP.pdf - Wikimedia Commons"(PDF).commons.wikimedia.org.June 22, 2022.RetrievedJanuary 22,2024.
  3. ^abcKloor, Keith(June 1, 2019)."The Media Loves This UFO Expert Who Says He Worked for an Obscure Pentagon Program. Did He?".The Intercept.
  4. ^abLevine, Art (July 20, 2023)."Spaceship of Fools".The Washington Spectator.RetrievedJuly 21,2023.
  5. ^Farwell, Matt (August 10, 2020)."Tom DeLonge's Warped UFO Tour".The New Republic.
  6. ^abcdBurton, Charlie (November 9, 2021)."This man ran the Pentagon's secretive UFO programme for a decade. We had some questions".GQ.RetrievedNovember 13,2021.
  7. ^Whitaker, Bill(May 16, 2021)."UFOs regularly spotted in restricted U.S. airspace, report on the phenomena due next month".CBS News.
  8. ^abcMcMillan, Tim (January 17, 2020)."The Tale of the Tape: The Long, Bizarre Saga of the Navy's UFO Video".Popular Mechanics.RetrievedMay 7,2020.
  9. ^abcCooper, Helene; Blumenthal, Ralph; Kean, Leslie (December 16, 2017)."Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program".The New York Times.
  10. ^Chow, Denice; Schwartz, Gadi (May 19, 2021)."UFOs are about to make their way to the U.S. Senate. Here's what to know".NBCNews.RetrievedMay 19,2021.
  11. ^Warrick, Joby (December 16, 2017)."Head of Pentagon's secret 'UFO' office sought to make evidence public".Washington Post.
  12. ^abBlumenthal, Ralph (December 18, 2017)."On the Trail of a Secret Pentagon U.F.O. Program".The New York Times.
  13. ^Eli Watkins and Brian Todd (December 19, 2017)."Former Pentagon UFO official: 'We may not be alone'".CNN.
  14. ^Cillizza, Chris(April 28, 2020)."This former senator isn't surprised by the new UFO tapes".CNN.
  15. ^abLewis-Kraus, Gideon (April 30, 2021)."How the Pentagon Started Taking U.F.O.s Seriously".The New Yorker.
  16. ^Bender, Bryan (May 21, 2021)."Ex-official who revealed UFO project accuses Pentagon of 'disinformation' campaign".Politico.
  17. ^Villarreal, Alexandra (May 28, 2021)."Whistleblower who spoke out on UFOs claims Pentagon tried to discredit him".the Guardian.
  18. ^Sharma, Shweta (May 27, 2021)."UFO whistleblower claims Pentagon threatened him after leaking military reports".The Independent.
  19. ^Taylor, Derrick Bryson (September 26, 2019)."How Blink-182's Tom DeLonge Became a U.F.O. Researcher".The New York Times.
  20. ^Mellon, Christopher(March 9, 2018)."The military keeps encountering UFOs. Why doesn't the Pentagon care?".The Washington Post.RetrievedMarch 12,2018.
  21. ^Cooper, Helene; Blumenthal, Ralph; Kean, Leslie (May 26, 2019)."'Wow, What Is That?' Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects ".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedFebruary 15,2020.
  22. ^Paul, Deanna (April 25, 2019)."How angry pilots got the Navy to stop dismissing UFO sightings".Washington Post.
  23. ^Scoles, Sarah."What Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?".Wired.ISSN1059-1028.RetrievedMay 7,2020.
  24. ^Sheaffer, Robert(June 5, 2019)."The Pentagon's UFOs: How a Multimedia Entertainment Company created a UFO news story".Skeptic.RetrievedMay 7,2020.
  25. ^Yuhas, Alan (April 28, 2020)."The Pentagon Released U.F.O. Videos. Don't Hold Your Breath for a Breakthrough".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedMay 7,2020.
  26. ^D'Addario, Daniel (May 31, 2019)."TV Review: History's 'Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation'".Variety.
  27. ^"Watch Preview: Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation: Aware Clip - Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation".HISTORY.RetrievedMay 29,2019.
  28. ^Cooper, Helene; Blumenthal, Ralph; Kean, Leslie (May 26, 2019)."'Wow, What Is That?' Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects ".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedMay 29,2019.
  29. ^Hipes, Patrick (March 12, 2019)."History Boards Six-Part UFO Docuseries 'Unidentified' Featuring Pentagon Whistleblower".Deadline.
  30. ^Wallis, Adam."Tom DeLonge says he'll 'expose new evidence' about UFOs in upcoming TV series".Global News.
  31. ^"UFOs regularly spotted in restricted U.S. airspace - 60 Minutes - CBS News".cbsnews.August 29, 2021.RetrievedJuly 5,2023.
  32. ^"UFOs are very real, 60 Minutes reports, they're still unidentified, and they aren't American".news.yahoo.May 17, 2021.RetrievedJuly 5,2023.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Luis_Elizondo&oldid=1233589655"