MEXICO CITY – Jaime
Maussan has spent the past decade collecting possible
evidence of alien visits to Earth and maintains he has had
personal contact with other "entities."
He presents UFO photos,
videos and testimony on two Internet sites, at conferences
in Mexico and the United States, on the radio and on his
new prime-time television show.
Entertainer, journalist and
believer, Mr. Maussan is the guru of a subculture of UFO
and space-travel devotees in Mexico, where there are a
surprising number of reported sightings.
Like their astronomer
ancestors, Mexicans embrace the notion of life in outer
space and are generally less cynical about the UFO
phenomenon than Americans.
"In no other place in
the world is there such a commitment to producing
evidence" of UFOs as in Mexico, he said.
And now Mr. Maussan says he
has secured the most definitive proof yet of
extraterrestrial visitors, and from an unlikely source:
Mexico's super-secretive military.
The air force tape shows 11
luminous flying objects that military experts can't
explain. So they sought out Mr. Maussan and cooperated
with his investigation.
With the video has come a
new dose of respect, Mr. Maussan said.
That could counter attacks
on Mr. Maussan's credibility by Mexican scientists and
even UFO buffs in other countries. While he is a darling
among some in the UFO field, he is also considered one of
the worst hucksters by scientists and skeptics, believers
and nonbelievers, many of whom have their own Web sites.
UFO Watchdog, which is much
more interested in debunking UFO theories than searching
for proof of extraterrestial life, is one. A Chile-based
Web site, "La Nave de los Locos" or "Ship
of the Crazy," likewise is dedicated to debunking UFO
stories and the people who make money off them.
Both sites suggest that Mr.
Maussan accepts any and all UFO stories and repeats them
with little or no skepticism to make money. The Web site
UFO Watchdog has placed Mr. Maussan in its "UFO Hall
of Shame," alleging that the longtime journalist is a
"promoter and supporter of various UFO hoaxes."
Mr. Maussan, 51,
acknowledges that there are bogus UFO stories, but he said
his new military-filmed video is bulletproof.
"This is a
watershed," he said of the video, which was broadcast
worldwide in May and was the top story on Mexico's nightly
news. In the history of UFOs, "there is a before, and
there is an after," Mr. Maussan said in the dramatic
tone that has made him a mainstream entertainer and global
UFO "expert."
The video also may be a
watershed in Mr. Maussan's career.
He used it on the June 13
debut episode of his two-hour weekly TV show, Great
Mysteries of the Third Millennium, which is broadcast
live from his own studio.
On the show, air force
pilots described their surprise at coming across luminous
objects while looking for drug traffickers in the lower
Gulf of Mexico on March 5.
Some of the objects showed
up on radar, the pilots said, meaning they had mass.
Others showed up on an infrared camera, meaning they
emitted heat. During the incident, the pilots expressed
surprise and even concern that they were being surrounded.
At one point, one soldier
says with nervous laughter, "We are not alone."
National Defense Minister
Ricardo Clemente Vega García said the video was given to
Mr. Maussan largely because the defense ministry was
unaware of anyone else who actively studied the subject in
Mexico.
"There are more copies
for those scientists who want to see it, only we don't
know them," Mr. Vega said. He added that the military
had no opinion on what the shiny objects might be and had
never used words like "UFO" or "flying
saucer" to describe them.
Since President Vicente Fox
became the first politician from an opposition party to
hold that office in seven decades, the notoriously closed
military has been somewhat more open.
Mr. Maussan, who dresses
casually and exudes sincerity, said he is a skeptical
journalist who simply presents the evidence.
He cites his credentials as
the former host of the investigative news show 60
Minutos, which is unrelated to the popular U.S. TV
news magazine 60 Minutes, and a long list of awards
and achievements.
Mr. Maussan is also a
believer who said he has had contact with
"entities." The experience, he said, was shared
by half a dozen people and came in the early years of his
UFO investigations.
"For me, it was
something very important. It convinced me that this
phenomenon is real and that it's just a matter of time.
The most natural logic indicates that this universe must
be full of intelligent life forms, and it's very likely
that they are more intelligent than us and can reach our
planet," he said.
Mr. Maussan said he did not
want to go into the details of his personal experiences
because that would make him, rather than his journalistic
work, the focus of attention.
"We are talking about
the most important story in history,' he said. "When
you accept that intelligent entities of unknown origin
exist in our world, it changes everything."
While Mr. Maussan said he
is not rich, his unique home in a wooded area of Mexico
City features underground bedrooms, connecting tunnels and
ongoing construction.
An above-ground nook is
carved from a single tree and resembles a pointy
spaceship. But there are few other UFO knickknacks, and
his two young children don't seem particularly interested
in the topic. Mr. Maussan said his wife used to be a
skeptic, too.
To be sure, scientists from
Mexico and elsewhere are loudly skeptical of this latest
video. The usual explanations – weather phenomena,
offshore oil rigs, highway lights – have been suggested.
UFO believers are unmoved
and remain elated about the rare military openness.
An admitted workaholic, Mr.
Maussan holds twice-a-week conferences around Mexico at
$20 per attendee, and he had his first in-person sessions
in the U.S. on June 25 and 26, in Los Angeles.
He is a regular guest on
U.S. Spanish-language programs such as the talk show Cristina.
His own TV show can be seen by U.S. viewers via streamed
Internet.
"Many people ask me
why the video was given to me," Mr. Maussan said from
his downtown Mexico City office, which is sprinkled with a
few UFO knickknacks. "Because of 13 years of
presenting this type of evidence. For the scientists, this
was an offense. But for the people, this was absolutely
natural.
"The scientists,"
he added, "would have explained it away and guarded
it in a drawer so that no one could see it."
E-mail liliff@dallasnews.com
