Luis Elizondo

Former intelligence officer in the United States Advanced Aerospace Identification Program Luis Elizondo appeared on The Daily Show last fall to discuss his firsthand experience with military and intelligence data.

Elizondo is the son of a Cuban immigrant father who was a dissident of the Fidel Castro regime. His father spent time as a political prisoner in Cuba for his involvement in the US-led invasion of the Bay of Pigs and, after his release from Castro’s prison, was exiled from Cuba. Growing up in South Florida, young Luis was exposed to his father’s efforts to change the political situation in Cuba. It was in this environment that his father instilled in him the importance of fighting for something greater than himself and the notion that things worth fighting for come at a cost. He has carried these values with him throughout his life. 

Luis Elizondo attended the University of Miami, double majoring in microbiology and immunology and minoring in chemistry and mathematics. He also gained advanced research experience in parasitology and tropical diseases such as malaria, leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis. 

While doing research, he was tangentially exposed to US government intelligence agencies that were interested in biological research. It was then that he decided his future would be with America’s intelligence organizations. Elizondo believed deeply that he needed to serve his country; after graduating, he enlisted in the US Army.   

During his service, he completed tours in the Republic of South Korea and in the continental US. In 1998, Elizondo was recruited into a US government program as a civilian intelligence officer and special agent.  He was stationed throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East. Immediately after 9/11, he served in Afghanistan as operations officer, the first counterintelligence coordinating authority, and battle captain.  He was honored to serve additional tours throughout the Middle East over the next several years, while his wife raised their family in the US.   

In 2003, Elizondo returned to Washington, D.C., where he oversaw counterespionage and counterterrorism investigations worldwide. Later, he served at the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, and subsequently the Office of the Director of National intelligence. Elizondo was also the former senior leader of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, the secretive Pentagon unit that studied UFOs. He resigned from the Pentagon in October 2017 to raise awareness of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) and their potential threat to America’s national security. In December of 2017, the New York Times brought the Pentagon unit to public awareness with a front-page article. 

Since 2017, Elizondo has remained engaged in public awareness of UAP by participating in media programs, including History Channel’s Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Program, among others. He also actively works with members of the various branches of government to promote transparency regarding UAP. In 2024, he testified at the US congressional hearings on UAP. His book Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs debuted at number one on the New York Times Best Sellers list in 2024. 

Learn more about Luis Elizondo’s presentation here.