Colombian military confirmed possible balloon flying over its airspace
A day before a U.S. military jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the country's Atlantic Coast on Saturday, Colombia's military confirmed a sighting of an airborne object similar to a balloon flying over its territory.
![Colombian military confirmed possible balloon flying over its airspace](https://devdiscourse.blob.core.windows.net/imagegallery/03_03_2020_19_07_58_0139831.jpg)
A day before a U.S. military jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the country's Atlantic Coast on Saturday, Colombia's military confirmed a sighting of an airborne object similar to a balloon flying over its territory. Colombia's air force issued a statement on Saturday providing limited details concerning a possible balloon its air defense system had located Friday morning.
U.S. military officials on Friday said another Chinese balloon was spotted somewhere over Latin America but did not specify its location. According to the Colombian air force statement, an "object" was detected over its territory at an altitude of 55,000 feet that had entered the South American country's airspace to the north moving at an average speed of 25 knots, or roughly 29 miles per hour.
The statement added that the object exhibited "characteristics similar to those of a balloon," and that the air force monitored it until if left the country's airspace. "It was determined that it did not represent a threat to national security," the statement added.
No other official confirmation of unidentified balloons flying over other Latin American countries has been issued as of Sunday. In recent days, however, balloon sightings have been made in Venezuela and Costa Rica by multiple social media users.
The saga of the downed Chinese spy balloon off the U.S. coast captivated public attention for days, and was widely seen as worsening U.S.-Chinese relations.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ALSO READ
Chile says a Venezuelan fugitive has been arrested in the killing of an anti-Maduro dissident
AI in the Classroom: Transforming Education in Latin America and the Caribbean
Natural Disasters and Poverty: A Vicious Cycle in Latin America
Arrest Ahead of Crucial Venezuelan Election Sparks Outrage
Venezuela's Political Drama: Arrest, Release, and Upcoming Election