Near Tunja, Colombia being encounter — January 1979

An EFE dispatch dated 25 January 1979 described unusual lights and a purported landing near the Páramo de Toquilla, on the Cusiana route about 100 kilometers from Tunja. Truck driver Hernando Pineda said an object came down gently amid brightly colored lights. His account then introduced another descending light, which appeared to become a metallic object extending three legs to anchor itself on the ground. A hatch reportedly opened and three bipedal figures emerged wearing tight-fitting suits and very large helmets. Translations of the dispatch differ in wording; one headline says two extraterrestrials while the quoted account says three. Other travelers were said to have noticed a whirlwind around the landing and departure, but the dispatch does not provide separate detailed interviews that would establish what each person actually observed. The January report survives in translated 1979 UFO Newsclipping Service issues, including the June reproduction of Crónica’s 25 January item. The exact encounter day, hour and craft outline are not securely supplied. Its language about extraterrestrials is the newspaper’s characterization. It should not be merged with later Toquilla accounts involving different named witnesses or assigned an invented saucer design. The illustration leaves the vehicle’s unrecorded outline obscured.