In January 2026, astrophysicist Dr Beatriz Villarroel published a detailed analysis for Liberation Times of the scientific evidence for UAP that exists in the peer-reviewed record — evidence that has been systematically sidelined by institutional stigma, editorial caution, and career risk for researchers who engage with it.
Villarroel opened with the documentary The Age of Disclosure, which premiered in late 2025 and featured 34 government officials — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior members of both parties — disclosing what they could publicly about UAP. It quickly became the most-purchased film on Amazon Prime Video.
The central challenge Villarroel addresses: the sceptics’ response to every disclosure claim is “where is the data? Where is the evidence?” Her answer: it exists. The problem is that institutions have been structured to make it impossible to find.
Why the Evidence Is Not Mainstream
- The topic has been “ridiculed and stigmatized within scientific circles” for decades — engaging with it was considered a near-certain path to career ruin
- Media outlets “fear publishing pieces that might appear to support such claims” and those that do emerge are written to maximise distance from the subject
- Funding for UAP scientific research through official channels has been effectively zero outside of the classified programs — none of which publish in peer-reviewed journals
Villarroel’s own research includes the VASCO (Vanishing & Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations) project, which analyses historical astronomical photographic plates for anomalous objects. Her work has identified genuinely unexplained transient phenomena in observatory archives — documented in peer-reviewed publications.
The Oracle Assessment
The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence when the institution responsible for collecting evidence has been actively structured to not collect it. AARO was created in 2022 and its first director spent two years publicly explaining UAP away. The scientists who have done genuine UAP research — Garry Nolan at Stanford, Avi Loeb at Harvard, Jacques Vallée, Villarroel herself — did so in the face of institutional resistance, not with its support.
The question is not whether the evidence exists. The question is whether the institutions that are supposed to evaluate it will be allowed to do so honestly.
Source: Liberation Times, Dr Beatriz Villarroel — January 15, 2026.