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'Alien corpses' with three fingers and long heads presented in Mexico are 'unsubstantiated stunt' insists UFO expert
14 September 2023, 12:40
"Alien corpses" presented to the Mexican congress have been slammed by a UFO specialist who branded them an "unsubstantiated stunt".
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The presentation made headlines as Mexican journalist and UFO enthusiast Jaime Maussan and Dr Jose de Jesus Zalce Benitez, the boss of a scientific institute, claimed they were proof of extraterrestrial life.
The remains shown were a pair of small, withered-looking bodies with long heads and three fingers on their hands.
They were found near the Nazca Lines in Peru in 2017 and are thought to be about 1,000 years old.
Sceptics were quick to rubbish the claims, and Lt Ryan Graves of the US Navy, who participated in the US Congress hearings about "unidentified anomalous phenomena" (UAP), tweeted: "After the U.S. Congressional UFO hearing, I accepted an invitation to testify before the Mexican Congress hoping to keep up the momentum of government interest in pilot experiences with UAP.
"Unfortunately, yesterday's demonstration was a huge step backwards for this issue. My testimony centered on sharing my experience and the UAP reports I hear from commercial and military aircrew through ASA's [Americans for Safe Aerospace] witness program.
"I will continue to raise awareness of UAP as an urgent matter of aerospace safety, national security, and science, but I am deeply disappointed by this unsubstantiated stunt."
Read more: US asks UK for help with UFO investigations as Pentagon says alien life has not been ruled out
Dr Benitez, of the Scientific Institute for Health of the Mexican Navy, said X-rays, 3D reconstruction and DNA analysis had been carried out.
"I can affirm that these bodies have no relation to human beings," he claimed.
Maussan had claimed past finds similar to these bodies had later been proven to be mummified children's remains.
He said: "I think there is a clear demonstration that we are dealing with non-human specimens that are not related to any other species in our world and that all possibilities are open for any scientific institution... to investigate it.
"We are not alone."
A statement from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) said it had only been involved in dating the age of the bodies, not in determining its origins.
It comes shortly after the congressional hearings in the US, which Lt Graves testified at.
Washington is taking reports of unexplained phenomena in the sky more seriously, with the Pentagon reporting recent sightings by pilots.
Nasa is also examining UFOs and is set to discuss the study's findings on Thursday.
Lt Graves said he saw was a "dark grey or black cube inside a clear sphere" that he encountered during a training session off the coast of Virginia in 2014 when he testified to US lawmakers in July.
The object came within 50 feet of his aircraft and had a diameter of around five to 15 feet, he said, adding that he reported the incident but it was not investigated.
"These sightings are not rare or isolated," said Mr Graves, who served in the Navy for more than 10 years.
"Military aircrews and commercial pilots, trained observers whose lives depend on accurate identification, are frequently witnessing these phenomena."