February 4, 2023 US shoots down Chinese spy balloon off East Coast

An airborne vehicle similar to the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon seen flying over the United States has been spotted in at least two Latin American countries this week. 

CNN is aware of at least half a dozen eyewitnesses in Latin America who have reported seeing the white balloon, sharing video and images on social media of its flight over Costa Rica and Colombia. CNN is unable to confirm if the images show a Chinese surveillance balloon.

Colombian media are reporting sightings of a balloon flying at about 70,000 feet over the South American country’s airspace, citing the Colombian military.

There have also been reports that there was a balloon seen flying over Costa Rica, which could be the same one as seen in Colombia.

Neither the Colombian government nor Costa Rica have issued any confirmation or official statement so far regarding any sightings. 

On Friday evening, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said that "we are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon," without specifying the balloon's exact location. 

Esteban Carranza, a lawyer from Costa Rica, posted a video of the balloon on Twitter Thursday, saying that "the same type of balloon spotted in the US was visible all day in the Costa Rican sky." 

Carranza told CNN that he filmed the white balloon flying above the Costa Rican capital of San José. CNN geolocated the video to Escazú Village, a shopping mall at San José.

"I looked at the object for around 45 minutes from different locations, completely still, and a few hours later went back out again and it was still there, in the exact same place. Lots of people were looking at it from different parts of the city. Even though not a UFO, it was still very unusual and therefore an exciting experience," he added. 

The object was also spotted above Colombia near the city of Valledupar, according to video shared with CNN.

Luis Armando Toloza Calvo shot the video on Friday at 12:13 p.m. ET using his cell phone and a telescope.

Initially, a white dot is seen floating in the sky before Calvo directs his cell phone lens to his telescope to get a better view of the object.  

President Joe Biden said his administration will handle a suspected Chinese spy balloon traversing the eastern United States. 

“We're gonna take care of it,” Biden said, when questioned by CNN’s Sam Fossum on whether he would shoot down the balloon. 

Biden has been discussing options with military brass since first being briefed on the balloon Tuesday. His advisers warned against shooting it down over land because debris could land on people or homes.

Biden was speaking at an airfield in Syracuse, New York, where he is visiting family. 

Evan Fisher, a meteorology major at UNC Asheville, saw the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon drift near the western North Carolina city this morning.

"We were expecting it to move over the western North Carolina area between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., but then to our surprise, it didn't show up until after sunrise, so I spotted it around 8:50 (a.m. ET) this morning, in the southern skies of the south of Asheville," he told CNN.

The balloon was "much larger than I expected it to be," he added.

Listen to more of the interview here:  

While the suspected Chinese spy balloon floating over the continental United States is dominating current headlines, Beijing and Washington have a long history of spying on each other.

The US has used its own surveillance methods in China, including flying aircraft over disputed islands claimed by Beijing, using human sources and monitoring signal intercepts.

American officials have sought to distinguish US actions from what they say is more brazen spying carried out by China's government. But Chinese officials say a similar thing – repeatedly accusing the US of espionage.

Here’s what we know about Chinese spy efforts:

Read more on the history of US-China spying here.

The suspected Chinese spy balloon appears to be drifting further eastward in North Carolina and is now over Charlotte, according to aerial footage from CNN affiliate WSOC.

CNN has reached out to the Charlotte mayor’s office Saturday morning.

The suspected Chinese spy balloon was spotted in the sky over Asheville, North Carolina, Saturday morning, according to video shared with CNN from Twitter.

The video was captured on Saturday morning at 8:40 a.m. ET, Asheville-area resident Kim Hixson told CNN.

CNN has reached out to both the Asheville mayor’s office and North Carolina governor’s office Saturday morning regarding the sighting.

The suspected Chinese spy balloon is expected to continue east and could leave the continental US Saturday morning, based off a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association weather model.

The projection as of Friday night had the balloon moving off the coast near the Outer Banks.

Two US defense officials also told CNN the balloon was expected to reach the East Coast and then pass out to sea in the southeast, near the Carolinas, with one official saying it could exit the eastern seaboard on Saturday.

There has been no official word yet on any specific location of the balloon Saturday morning.

The NOAA weather model known as HYSPLIT is used to simulate the dispersion or trajectory of substances dispersed into the atmosphere. It's provided analysts with insights on the balloon's expected movements, based on its previous locations.

This was the anticipated trajectory, as of Friday evening:

A suspected Chinese surveillance balloon in the skies over the continental United States has sparked national security concerns, adding to already tense diplomatic relations.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has responded by postponing his highly anticipated trip to China, saying Friday that the high-altitude balloon entering US airspace had “created the conditions that undermine the purpose of the trip.”

Blinken dubbed it an “irresponsible act." China, meanwhile, denies the balloon is involved in any kind of espionage, claiming it is a "civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes" that has been blown off course.

Here's what we know so far:

Read more here.

US President Joe Biden has been constantly briefed throughout the day on the suspected Chinese spy balloon as it hovers over the US, including calls with national security team officials, according to a senior administration official.

There was another briefing scheduled for when Biden arrived in Wilmington Friday evening. 

The military options Biden asked for at the start have been maintained and updated as the situation has evolved, the official said, noting that no options had been taken off the table.

Why hasn't the US shot down the suspected spy balloon? Biden and national security team officials have discussed options including shooting the balloon down, the official said.

Earlier, the military had advised against shooting down the balloon due to the risk of falling debris, but the situation could change as the balloon moves towards the East Coast.

The official said multiple options were being considered, but declined to detail what those options may include.