Luis "Lue" Elizondo
PersonLuis "Lue" Elizondo
PersonLuis “Lue” Elizondo — former US intelligence officer in counterintelligence & counterterrorism; UAP disclosure advocate
Luis “Lue” Elizondo — former US intelligence officer in counterintelligence & counterterrorism; UAP disclosure advocate
Luis “Lue” Elizondo is a former U.S. intelligence officer and counterterrorism specialist who became publicly known for advocating transparency around Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), formerly called UFOs. Raised in South Florida as the son of a Cuban exile, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Miami, studying microbiology and immunology. After enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1995, he pursued a civilian intelligence career, with deployments and roles spanning counterintelligence, counterterrorism, and intelligence operations, including work in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Elizondo draws public attention primarily for his association with the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP)—a Pentagon initiative purportedly tasked with examining aerial phenomena that could pose national security threats. He has claimed that he joined AATIP in 2009 and later managed its security and intelligence responsibilities, including coordination with military and intelligence bodies. However, Elizondo’s exact role in AATIP is the subject of dispute. The Department of Defense has publicly stated that while he interacted with the program, he “had no responsibilities with regard to AATIP” while serving in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (OUSDI) until his resignation in 2017.
In contrast, Senator Harry Reid—one of the original sponsors of AATIP—has asserted that Elizondo held leadership responsibilities in the program. Elizondo filed a complaint with the DoD Inspector General alleging that certain official statements misrepresented his contributions in order to discredit him for speaking out. Following his departure from government service in 2017, Elizondo took videos from naval pilots—previously classified—that depict encounters with unidentified aerial objects in routine U.S. airspace and shared them with media outlets. This action ignited broader public and congressional interest in UAP investigations.
He also joined a private organization focused on disclosure work, appeared in TV programming to discuss UAPs, and in 2024 published a memoir titled Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs. In Imminent, Elizondo made several striking claims: that non-human bodies have been recovered from crash sites, that an umbrella group of officials and contractors oversees a clandestine retrieval and research operation, and that so-called “orbs”—floating luminous phenomena—have physically invaded his home. These statements are attributed to his personal testimony; independent confirmation is limited. Elizondo becomes a significant figure at the intersection of government secrecy and public demand for accountability.
His narrative has galvanized renewed legislative attention to UAPs, pressing agencies to clarify what they do know, what they withhold, and why. At the same time, critics challenge his credibility—pointing to contested claims about what evidence exists and whether certain evidence was misinterpreted or misrepresented.
Understanding Elizondo means grappling with what authorities concede, what he says in memoir and media, and where questions remain unsettled. His role continues to matter because the debate over UAPs—what they are, whether evidence is credible, how security is implicated—remains active in public policy, science, journalism, and national defense circles.
Lue Elizondo comments on the latest USG UFO file release. Some key takeaways: - These things are real and we’ve known they’re real for decades [hence, the info coverup] - There’s a possibility that the frequency of these occurrences is increasing [and hasn’t he discussed a sense of urgency in disclosure over the last few years] - Major points of interaction: water and nuclear - We have evidence that UAP can operate in our airspace, LEO, and underwater without a performance compromise. - Objec...
"They all went to the same spot. I can tell you the lat and long." ~Kevin Day (Remember yesterday, when I transcribed Sheehan's words to @ufouapam?) Sheehan: "Lue Elizondo has conveyed to me, the exact longitude and latitude, down to the minute and second, of the location off the Baja Peninsula, off Guadalupe Island...where they have actual videotape, gun-camera-videotape proof of UFOs coming to that particular site and plunging under the ocean with no splash at all. And traveling from 200 mp...
When @LueElizondo talks about wanting to destroy ufology, this is a perfect example. Here's some inside info. on why @JeremyCorbell hasn't been on Twitter for a bit: PEOPLE HAVE LIVES OUTSIDE OF HERE AND OUTSIDE OF THIS TOPIC. Now go check the asinine replies to this post. ⬇️ https://t.co/AMWnoW2rOY [Quoted] Why didn't @JeremyCorbell share or promote @g_knapp and Bigelow's podcast? https://t.co/5aA3IDulhB
If Ivan is speaking without Lue’s authority, would that not break attorney-client privilege and consent? Forgive me, this is not my area, but what am I missing here? @garymauney https://t.co/kjGuaaZd6M [Quoted] On Vinnie Disclosure Team podcast Lue Elizondo said several times he’s said his piece and moving on. “Take the higher ground. Don’t fight fire with fire.” So why is his attorney Ivan Hannel not following suit? A directive, or is Ivan going rogue? https://t.co/VBXxcwcu7M
🚨 Lue continues throwing shade at UAP Gerb and Ross Coulthart "These people have my number. Call me if you have any questions. Guess what? They never called me. So, that should be an indicator. That should tell you about the motivations of certain people putting information out. When they're afraid to clarify and contact you because they know that the information that you're going to provide probably counters their own narrative that they're spewing out or that they've created in their mind....
Lue said he got a black eye and busted lip because a box fell on him while moving https://t.co/euyXyGxy8b [Quoted] Apparently Elizondo has aged 20 years since the Gerb interview. https://t.co/vZ0Pohmtwh
UAP Gerb sees it the way it is and brought receipts. No one is better in the biz right now. Coulthart tried to give Lue credit and he wasn’t having it.
"That would be the easiest way for Lue to exonerate himself - if he feels compelled to do so - of being accused of being part of the cover-up. ~Sheehan Sheehan Claim: The UAP Governance Board = CIA, FBI, NSA... Neither Elizondo nor Grusch Should Take That Chief-of Staff Position Danny Sheehan: "The manner in which this public statement was issued - I think, was like on June 22nd or so - there was just this Pete Hegseth in the Defense Department, just issued this unilateral declaration that, O...
Is the next batch of UFO/UAP files coming tomorrow? Lue: "There's another drop that's coming." Be patient.
RT @bennibennasi01: So @LueElizondo is on @thomaslfessler and @MikeDisclosure’s show Disclosure tonight, stating that he doesn’t endorse ba…
