Miami politician running for Congress believes she was abducted by aliens

A Florida politician hoping to be elected to Congress in next year's election has claimed that she was abducted by aliens.

Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera, 59, a Republican former member of Miami's city council, said that she was taken by extra-terrestrials when she was seven.

She is running to replace Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who retires next year. 

Ms Rodriguez’s daughter is former Republican National Committee Hispanic outreach director Bettina Inclan Agen, and her son-in-law, Jarrod Agen, is deputy chief of staff for Mike Pence, the vice president.

"I had a direct contact," she said in a 2009 Spanish-language interview with America Teve, discovered by The Miami Herald.

"There were three people, who looked a bit like you," she told the blonde hostess of the TV show. She told her that the aliens looked like the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.

In a separate interview, published on YouTube in 2011, she went into further detail - describing the aliens as two women and one man. The X Files theme tune played in the background.

Ms Rodriguez described “going up” inside the spaceship — though whether it went into space or just hovered around town was left unclear.

“I went in. There were some round seats that were there, and some quartz rocks that controlled the ship — not like airplanes,” she said.

They "flew" in the spaceship, she said, and they told her secrets of the universe, including that the "energy centre" of the world was in Africa.

She said that they told her the island of Malta was surrounded by prehistoric skulls, different to modern humans.

She said that Coral Castle was another pyramid, outside of Egypt.

She also said that the aliens had mentioned Isis, though she didn’t clarify if they meant the terrorist organisation or the ancient Egyptian goddess.  Asked by the hostess what she meant, Ms Rodriguez replied: "It's very complicated to explain."

She added: "They told me they'd be back to visit me in later life".

Ms Rodriguez said they did indeed return, when she was 17.

Luis Sosa, a Venezuelan journalist on the show, thanked her for her "courage" in speaking about her experiences.

"A lot of people don't like to speak about these topics," he said.

Asked by The Miami Herald at the weekend about her encounter, Ms Rodriguez said that she strongly believed there was intelligent life outside our galaxy.

“For years, people, including presidents like Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter and astronauts, have publicly claimed to have seen unidentified flying objects," she said.

"Scientists like Stephen Hawking and institutions like the Vatican have stated that there are billions of galaxies in the universe and we are probably not alone.

“I personally am a Christian and have a strong belief in God, I join the majority of Americans who believe that there must be intelligent life in the billions of planets and galaxies in the universe.”