Colombia cult members missing - had rendezvous with UFO
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from July 1999.
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Followers of the Stella Maris Church, a Gnostic organisation, headed out to the Sierra Nevada mountains over the weekend. A police spokesman in Cartagena, said they had received reports the group had disappeared. There have been no known reports of doomsday cults operating in Colombia.
But in 1978 South America was the scene of the worst mass suicide ever when more than 900 American followers of the so-called People's Temple killed themselves in Jonestown, Guyana.
Leaders of a Gnostic group in Bogota said it had heard reports of its strange beliefs. "Certain practices of Stella Maris were fanatical and dogmatic.... They had been talking about a meeting with UFOs," said Wilson Martinez, a Gnostic "archbishop" in Bogota. Martinez said Gnostics believed in the spiritual but not historical existence of Christ and looked to "free their souls with knowledge".
Family members have accused Rogelio Perea, self-styled head of the cult, of swindling his followers out of homes, property and money. They also say he forced members to sever ties with families.
"The two leaders told my daughter she was God's chosen one and made her change her name to Stella Maris to brainwash her. She was convinced she was going to make contact with flying saucers," said Mariela Tovar.
But others close to the Stella Maris group believe its 100 or so members have simply gone on a routine spiritual retreat and relatives and media have exaggerated the story.
