Documents / Official release
This Clinton Presidential Library folder holds NSC cables from January 1999 to December 2000, filed under the heading "Flying Saucer or UFO". A withdrawal sheet lists eleven cables that were withheld in full or in part under Presidential Records Act and FOIA restrictions. The released cables include an FBIS summary of a Bogota TV newscast, which notes that a UFO photograph printed by El Espectador was a hoax. They also include a US Embassy Beijing report on Quanzhou, Fujian, and a Vladivostok cable on Governor Yevgeniy Nazdratenko.
“Headquarters”1 page
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[FBIS Translated Text] The Colombian uncertainty on what can happen at the border has been accentuated by recent incidents with the neighboring country. Border relations between Venezuela and Colombia have never been devoid of problems. Despite the undeniable progress that has been achieved by the negotiating commission of the conflict, which was created by the two countries, the incidents continue to recur. That is why Colombian authorities were greatly displeased by the statement made by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jose Vicente Rangel last week, in response to a journalist's question concerning the alleged overflight by a Venezuelan aircraft over Norte de Santander in Colombia. The Colombians are sighting UFO's, Rangel had said. Apparently there are persons there who have a more vivid imagination than Gabriel Garcia Marquez, he noted. The truth is that, according to reports available to the Colombian authorities, over the past weeks there have been Venezuelan overflights in the jurisdiction of the municipality of Tibu. The first occurred July 22 at 11:30 in the morning. According to the official report, three F-16 aircraft, belonging to the Venezuelan Armed Forces [FAV], that had been camouflaged, suddenly flew over Colombian territory, causing great alarm among the authorities. According to official reports, the aircraft overflew at an altitude below 3,000 feet. According to reports supplied by military authorities of the zone, -- that were made available to the Colombian Foreign Ministry in the wake of the incident -- the aircraft entered 35 km inside the jurisdiction of Tibu. The entrance and consequential violation of Colombian airspace occurred in the sector known as Vetas de Oriente. The aircraft later passed over Tibu and Campo Dos and again overflew Venezuelan territory in the area of Tres Bocas (see map). This same operation had been carried out by Venezuelan aircraft on three opportunities, the most recent on July 27. Arms at Discretion [subhead] Another source of tension between the two countries has been Venezuelan gunrunning operations to the FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia]. Although Venezuelan authorities have been reluctant to admit publicly that there are ties between Venezuelan gun runners and Colombian guerrillas, the truth is that Colombian security organizations have evidence which demonstrates that the existence of such ties are close and cause of concern. Among the weapons seized from Colombian subversive organizations are FAL and AK-47 rifles, M-60 machine-guns, grenades, Browning pistols, Miniuzi submachine-guns, and approximately 35,000 rounds of ammunition from the neighboring country. According to authorities of the FARC 16th Front, which operates in Vichada, and whose commander is Tomas Molina Caracas, a. K. A. "El Negro Acacio," conducts permanent operations on the Venezuelan border. According to authorities, another of the leaders of the group, is Josue Eliseo Prieto alias "Commander Esteban," considered one of the heads of finances of the FARC. The other leader is known as "Chiguere," who was imprisoned for a long time in Venezuela, but who managed to escape with the complicity of the prison guards in Puerto Ayacucho, capital of the state of Amazonas. "Esteban" was killed by men of the 4th Army Division last May 26 in an operation staged between the municipalities of Garcitas and Totumo (Vichada). Four Venezuelan citizens were captured in the operation. Nonetheless, some authorities of that country
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Official release, from the nara collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 64 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.