Supposed Alien Corpses Shown to Mexican Lawmakers

During a hearing on "unidentified anomalous phenomena" or UAPs at Mexico's Congress Tuesday, a self-described "ufologist" brought in what he claimed were the bodies of two aliens. As NPR puts it, "the corpses looked white and like stereotypical depictions of aliens—big head, little body, three fingers." Jaime Maussan testified that they were found in diatomite mines in Peru in 2017 and are an estimated 1,000 years old. The New York Times says the unexpected display "caused jaws to drop and memes to multiply." But, as KSAT reports, similar claims made by Maussan in the past have been "widely debunked," and following Maussan's testimony, researchers he mentioned quickly distanced themselves from it.

Scientists have said in the past that such supposed "alien corpses" are actually mummies, or perhaps manipulated mummies. Maussan, who was under oath at the time, insisted these two were not, and his testimony was followed by that of forensic expert and military doctor José de Jesús Zalce Benítez, who explained what scans of the bodies showed (big brains, big eyes "for a wide stereoscopic vision," and no teeth). Also appearing at the hearing was Ryan Graves, a former US Navy fighter pilot who is interested in promoting government awareness of UAPs, such as the videos shown at the hearing of Mexican pilots confused by objects flying quickly around them. Graves was not happy with Maussan's testimony at all, he later explained on X.

"Unfortunately, yesterday's demonstration was a huge step backwards" for government interest in UAPs, he wrote. "My testimony centered on sharing my experience and the UAP reports I hear from commercial and military aircrew through ASA's 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." Graves also testified before the United States Congress describing his experience with an unidentified flying object; he says those types of encounters are "grossly underreported." (More extraterrestrial life stories.)