An isolated indigenous village in rural Peru faces an attack where a 15-year-old girl is targeted for kidnapping. Astonishingly, locals attribute the incident to extraterrestrial beings, which they described as little green men.
However, government authorities looking into the bizarre event have a different conclusion: illegal miners employing jetpacks. This surreal narrative, which seems like a misfired game of Mad Libs, has been an ongoing saga in the Northern Peruvian Amazon since July.
A man with a jetpack entertains the crowd during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 29, 2019 in Spa, Belgium.
Flying 7 Foot-Tall Alien Attackers
Members of the Ikitu indigenous tribe report encountering unusual levitating figures almost seven feet tall that effortlessly deflect their weapons. Local leader Jairo Reátegui ávila referred to them as "aliens," likening their appearance to the armored Green Goblin from Spider-Man, expressing concern and bewilderment.
The indigenous tribe in the remote village called Alto Nanay in an Amazonian region near Lima, Peru, said these purported attacks commenced on July 11 and were characterized by "large armored humanoids" equipped with advanced weaponry. A TikTok video showed villagers providing testimony to law enforcement regarding these encounters.
Situated a 10-hour river trip away from the nearest authorities, the village requested military support due to escalating incidents, including a distressing case where a 15-year-old girl was seized and injured by these beings.
While some Twitter users expressed skepticism before the prosecutor's report, there were suggestions that the presence of these assailants might be connected to mining or logging interests, given the history of illegal gold mining activities in the region.
In response to the alien attacks, villagers initiated night patrols to fend off the armed intruders. The incidents raised questions about the validity of the alien claims in light of the region's previous struggles with illegal gold mining and associated social issues like child labor.
Illegal Miners With Jetpacks Not Aliens
Following the villagers' plea for police assistance, authorities arrived in the remote region, determining in early August that the phenomena were, in reality, illegal miners employing advanced technology of jetpacks to intimidate the community.
Peruvian witnesses, including teacher Cristian Caleb Pacaya, reported an illegal mining cartel using advanced equipment, including 'jetpacks' or thruster-based flight gear. Carlos Castro Quintanilla, a Peruvian prosecutor, labeled these entities 'mafias de extranjeros' or foreign mafias, conducting illegal gold extraction mainly in the Nanay river basin, home to the Ikitu tribe.
Jetpacks were potentially used initially for prospecting gold in dense jungles, with violent attacks as a subsequent strategy. Initially described as silver beings with large heads, the attackers were equipped with round-shaped shoes featuring red lights, these beings floated about a meter above the ground.
Despite the villagers' fear, they organized night patrols against the attackers until military intervention. Amid the 'extraterrestrial' theory, some locals referred to the groups as 'los Pelacaras,' alluding to organ traffickers and local legends of face-peeling monsters.
Peru's gold mining, while traditional, saw a surge in unregulated 'artisanal mining' during the 2008 financial crisis. A 2016 INTERPOL assessment highlighted the illicit gold trade's profitability and low risk compared to drug trafficking due to stringent drug law enforcement.
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