In 1979, Uruguay established CRIDOVNI — the Comision Receptora e Investigadora de Denuncias de Objetos Voladores No Identificados. Operating under the Fuerza Aerea Uruguaya, CRIDOVNI has functioned as an official state UAP investigation body for 45 years. AARO was established in 2022. Uruguay was doing this 43 years earlier.
What CRIDOVNI Does
CRIDOVNI receives UAP reports from the Uruguayan public and military personnel, investigates them using Air Force resources, and maintains a permanent record of Uruguayan UAP encounters. The commission has investigated hundreds of cases across 45 years, including military pilot encounters, civilian mass sighting events, and physical trace cases. It has periodically published investigative summaries and participated in international UAP research conferences.
The Latin American Context
Latin America produced the most advanced non-US UAP investigation infrastructure in the world: Chile’s programme from 1968, Brazil’s Operation Saucer 1977, Uruguay’s CRIDOVNI 1979. All three predate AARO by decades. The region’s large airspace, diverse terrain, and strong civil aviation infrastructure produced a rich primary case record that has received far less international attention than its quality warrants.
The Oracle Assessment
Uruguay is a country of 3.5 million people with a formal, funded, staffed military UAP commission since 1979. The US with 340 million established AARO in 2022. The disparity is not explained by differences in UAP activity. It is explained by political will. CRIDOVNI’s 45-year institutional continuity is a benchmark AARO has not approached.
Sources: Fuerza Aerea Uruguaya. CRIDOVNI, established 1979.