The Colombian Air Force said Saturday night they had been tracking a strange balloon-shaped object since Friday. Some citizens in the north of the country, in cities like Valledupar and Cartagena, had shared messages on their social networks claiming to see a white figure in the sky, similar to a white balloon like the one they had been spotted in the United States for three days. In a statement, the Air Force confirmed it had spotted the same object on February 3.
“The National Air Defense System has detected an object over 55,000 feet in height entering Colombian airspace in the northern sector of the country, moving at an average speed of 25 knots and identifying features resembling those of a globe,” the statement said.
The defense system tracked the object “until it left the airspace”. At this point, they inform the public, they believe the object “did not pose a threat to national security and defense or aviation security.”
A white object flying across the sky of Valledupar, Colombia on February 3, 2023.RR.SS.
However, the Air Force says it is conducting all relevant investigations with different countries to determine from where this object might have entered Colombian airspace.
The news comes a day after the Pentagon announced on Friday that it had spotted a second Chinese balloon. The first, which was on US territory and which the Biden administration considered a “violation of sovereignty,” was shot down this Saturday. The second balloon flies over Latin America and also performs surveillance functions, according to a press release from Defense Department spokesman General Patrick Ryder.
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“We see information about a balloon flying over Latin America. We regard this as another Chinese surveillance balloon,” the statement said. However, the Pentagon did not specify where this second balloon would be located. Costa Rica’s La Nación newspaper has already published that hundreds of people have seen a white hot air balloon in that country’s skies, and doubts about its location are now adding to the balloon spotted by the Air Force in the Colombian Caribbean.
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