UFO FYI: 1996- Varginha, Brazil

1996- The Varginha Affair
or
"Bet You Can't Come Up With a Pun I Haven't Already Thought Of"

(Wikipedia) The Varginha UFO incident was a mass-media information incident, mainly by TV, in Varginha, Brazil, in 1996 involving popular reports of unidentified flying objects and strange creatures (allegedly extraterrestrials) which were supposedly captured by Brazilian officials. However, no Brazilian officials affirm the unusual history.

The case generated extensive publicity in Central and South America, and was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal. The Brazilian government officially denies that anything unusual occurred, but some theorists have charged that there was a cover up. Skeptics cite the lack of reliable sources as evidence against its actuality; the testimony of unnamed, anonymous "official" individuals are frequently featured. UFO investigator Kevin D. Randle writes that "this case is as complicated as any other in the UFO field." Randle notes that there is a lack of physical evidence supporting the case, and adds, "In fact, we have been unable to verify much of anything."

According to some mass-media, the creature was first sighted by three women ranging from 14 to 21 years old: sisters Liliane and Valquíria Fátima Silva, and their friend Kátia Andrade Xavier. They allegedly saw the creature in the afternoon of January 20, 1996: A biped about 1.6 metres (5 ft), with a large head and very thin body, with V-shaped feet, brown skin, and large red eyes. It seemed to be wobbly or unsteady, and the girls assumed it was injured or sick. The creature was said to have a strong, unpleasant odor. Some have noted physical similarities between this alleged creature and the chupacabra, a cryptozoological creature reported in Puerto Rico and Central America.

The Silva sisters say they fled, then told their mother that they had seen the devil. She didn’t believe them at first, but when she had gone to the area they had seen the creature and smelled a strong ammonia-like odor, her opinion changed. After relating their tale to family and friends, rumors began to spread throughout the city: UFOs were sighted, aliens were captured. Two days later, another creature was allegedly found lying along a road. Three military trucks were sent to retrieve it. It was captured by S2 officials (Brazil's military intelligence), and sent to a hospital to be examined.

As related by Moffett in the Wall Street Journal, "The army finds itself besieged on several fronts. A local mystic predicts that Varginha will suffer some kind of cataclysm this September as retribution for its blitzkrieg on the interplanetary visitors. An armed-forces news conference marking 'Victory Day' in World War II degenerated into a shouting match between a general and a television reporter pressing him about the extraterrestrials. An official briefing to debunk UFO conspiracies was overshadowed by an auto mechanic's claim to have seen yet another weird cylindrical aircraft, a cosmic encounter he re-enacted with the aid of an aluminum coffee thermos ... Stanton Friedman, a Canada-based UFO expert, says Varginha has the makings of a 'cosmic Watergate.'"Brazilian mass media was saturated for some time with speculation, rumors and accounts regarding the UFO's and the strange creatures. A soldier, Marco Eli Cherese, was said to have died under mysterious circumstances related to the UFO affair.

Vitorio Pacaccini, a Brazilian UFO enthusiast, became a central figure in the Varginha affair. He appeared on television, offering testimony he reported was from reliable government officials, which confirmed the events as true. The sources, however, were anonymous, said Pacaccini, and feared reprisal. Randle notes that Pacaccini insists that the first to encounter the strange creature was not the girls, but rather, a group of fire department workers. In the early morning of January 20, according to Pacaccini, four firemen were alerted to a strange animal which had been first spotted by a group of boys, who began throwing rocks at it. They captured the dizzy creature, and whisked it away.

Moffett writes that there have been over half a dozen sightings of the creatures, though "it is unclear how all of these beings could have fit into the minivan-sized spacecraft that was spotted here in January." There was disagreement as to whether one creature had been sighted multiple times, or if several creatures had been sighted individually. Officials in Varginha denied that anything unusual occurred, but considered dedicating a park to the creatures. On the other hand, this incident made the city very famous, bringing numerous ET tourists. Now, the UFO tourism has become an important commercial activity of Varginha city. Many "Grey" dolls with famous football team uniforms are on sale in the main streets.

(UFO Phenomenon at Close Sight) In January 1996 several persons witness a ufo crash in the city of Varginha, Brazil. The local firemen, and then the Brazilian army take over. In the following days, alien beings are spotted by other witnesses, trying to escape, as they are hunted and even fired at by the military. One of the alien body is reported dead and autopsied at the local hospital, then taken away to another location. Revelations on Varginha Case are aired on Brazilian TV and reach the rest of the world. In May, 1997 a scientist accused of having autopsied the alien(s) states in a conference he will be able to speak on the subject in a question of years. In June 1997, fifteen witnesses confirm involvement of soldiers in alien capture. Another witness reports he was offered money to keep his mouth shut.

The Varginha Case is unique in many ways. First of all, it's an once-in-a-lifetime shot for UFO-researchers to have a really "hard" case in their hands. Ufologists such as Stanton T. Friedman and John Carpenter, who to many represent the "famous elite". But also well renowned men like the local investigators Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues and Vitorio Pacaccini (who were the first two to investigate and blew the case right open), and A.J. Gevaerd (MUFON's representative in Brazil). Men like Stanton T. Friedman who is an expert in the legendary Roswell-incident and knows how the secret-machine works, an insight that will be vital when it comes to finding out what has happened to the EBE's (Extraterrestrial Biological Entities) that are supposed to have been transferred alive to Albrook Airforce Base in Panama.

The tfollowing is an shortened version (parts not transcribed here are repetitive) of an article published in the Brazilian news magazine Isto E', Issue #1447, 25 June 1997, pages 121-122. Translation by P.H. Andrade.

Fifteen witnesses confirm episode, says ufologist Ubirajara Rodrigues.
YES, WE HAVE "ET":
Report of a close encounter of the third kind made Varginha the Brazilian Roswell. Luiza Villamea, from Varginha (MG)

The city of Varginha, in the southern Minas Gerais state, is the [Brazilian] national version of Roswell. With 120 thousand inhabitants, Varginha has become the Brazilian capital of Ufology since the report of a strange creature sighting by three girls crossed its mountains and gained the world.

The most extraordinary close encounter of the third kind ever reported in Brazil gained prominence when associated to other testimonies and even to mysterious deaths. Less than a month after the incident, the military policeman Marco Eli Chereze, then with 23, succumbed to a multiple infection without an apparent cause. "He must has been infected when he touched the creature", supposes his older sister, Marta. Member of the P-2, the Military Police's intelligence service, Chereze is pointed by the ufologists who investigate the case as a victim of a complex MP operation which has culminated in the capture of two extraterrestrials.

All the institutions cited by ufologists deny the occurrence. According to the records released by the MP, Chereze is not even known to be in the working schedule on that Jan. 20th [1996]. The mother of the policeman, Lourdes, contests the information. She emphasizes she remembers well that Saturday - a day that begun sunny and that had an astonishing change in the weather by sunset, with hailstones that even untiled houses. Lourdes tells Chereze worked in plain clothes and used to drive around in a white Fiat car (model "Premio") from the MP that was without the window in the driver's side. "My son passed at home at about 6:00 PM, with his shirt soaked", she remembers. "He changed his clothes and asked me to tell his wife he was not coming for dinner because he was in mission".

Involved in the investigations around the ETs of Varginha since the day after the encounter reported by the three girls, the lawyer Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues, an ufologist for more than 20 years, attests that the involvement of [the MP soldier] Chereze in the episode is confirmed by FIFTEEN TESTIMONIES RECORDED IN VIDEO. It's eight military witnesses and seven civilian, whose identities are kept in silence, due to security reasons. "Varginha Case is not closed", affirms Rodrigues. "It is likely that it will only be cleared up after a few decades".

Among the many questions raised by the ufologists, is the death of five animals from the city's Zoo : two deer, a blue macaw, a jaguar and a tapir. With no apparent reason, it all died at the same time the housewife Terezinha Galo Clepf, 67, affirms she saw another alien at the Zoo, on April, 1996. The place, by the way, will receive a concrete-made clone-copy of the alien.

Because of episodes like this, over eighty studious of Ufology have already been in the region. One of them, the Spanish writer J.J. Benitez, author of the book series "Trojan Horse Operation" has even announced the discovery of landing marks from a spaceship. "This is completely false", says engineer Claudeir Covo, president of the INFA - National Institute on the investigation of Aerospatial Phenomena. "The alleged marks are nothing else but two holes made by a vertical digger and the vestiges of plucked white-ant", agrees Rodrigues. At present time, these two ufologists analyze the testimony of the small entrepreneur Carlos de Souza, resident of the city of Sao Paulo, who recently presented himself as a witness of the retrieval of an unidentified object by the Army, when he was travelling near to the city [of Varginha]. "When they saw me, they forced me to get out of there", says Souza.

The Varginha, Brazil Entity
UFO Casebook
About 12:00 A.M. January 20, 1996: NORAD (North American Air Defense Command) contacts their Brazilian counterpart CINDACTA (I Centro INtegrado de Defesa Aerea e Controle de Trafego Aereo or Integrated Center on Air Defense and Air Traffic Control) and warns them of a UFO coming down over southern parts of the state. This information is leaked by both a Brazilian Air Force soldier, and an employee at the radar facility at Air Force Base VI Comar. Farmers Augusta and Eurico Rodrigues' sleep is rudely interrupted by the frightened sounds of their farm animals. Attempting to find the cause, they peek out the window, seeing the animals running from one side of the field to the other. Peering into the night sky, they see a silent UFO without lights.

When emergency departments receive a call that someone has seen a "strange creature," usually a good laugh is had by all. At first, that is exactly what happened at a Varginha, Brazil Fire Department on the morning of January 20, 1996. This case of the unknown began early that morning with a frantic phone call stating that a "strange creature" had been seen in the area of Jardim Andere. Thinking that the reporter was probably someone who was drunk, or been up too long partying, this first call was in the process of being reluctantly responded to when a second call came in stating the same thing. The Fire Department personnel in Brazil are part of the Military, and must respond to all calls. What could this be, a couple of pranksters perpetuating a hoax? If so, the group was growing, as several more calls came in also reporting this unusual monster. Firemen followed the civilians' instructions to the site.

To the utter surprise of the men, they found the source of the strange reports. The entity was seemingly in a dazed condition, and was easily captured by the search party. Three protrusions stood atop of it's head, which glowed with red eyes. It also had long arms, short legs, and big feet. The monster sounded off with a buzz as it was taken into a net approximately 2 and one-half hours after the first call was received. Was this some type of "one of kind" alien who was visiting our world? Whatever it was, it was not alone. Later that very day, three girls, Lilliane Fatima, Valquira Fatima, and Andrade Xavier, were walking home after work. Taking a short-cut through a wooded area, they stumbled upon another one of these strange alien creatures. Their description of the entity was almost identical to the one nabbed earlier. Picking up their pace, they raced home. One of the girls' mothers immediately went back to the spot of the sighting, saw foot prints, and smelled a strong scent of ammonia in the air. This was not the end of the creatures by any means. There were reports of as many as seven being captured that day. One was supposedly taken to a small regional hospital before being transferred to the larger Humanitas facility. Reports stated that the creature was escorted by military personnel. At least one of the creatures expired, and was taken for an autopsy to the University of Campinas. Reportedly, two others were taken to the University of Sao Paulo for examination. During the autopsy process, certainly many photographs and videos were taken, but so far, nothing has been released to the public save for an artist's rendition of the creature. Only a few weeks after the events of January 20, Marco Eli Cherese, a 23 year old military policeman who was involved in the investigation, died. Supposedly he fell ill from the effects of contact with one of the creatures. The press began a relentless search for more details of the case, and two of the girls involved began to ask for monetary compensation for their testimony. The mother of the girls, Mrs. Luiza Helena, states that she was offered a fair sum of money by four unknown men dressed in cream-colored Armani suits. This time, however, the money was to silence the testimony, not solicit it. "They also said they would come back, but we can't hide the truth," she said.

When questioned by the press, Military and Fire Department members denied any knowledge of a captured alien. This response did not come as a surprise. There were reports of an unusual amount of troop movement on the day of the monsters, indicating a cover-up. Officially speaking, all personnel at the hospitals involved denied any knowledge of the events involving the capture of any alien being. It would be only natural for those involved to be under an oath of silence, but there is one indication that the strange stories may have credibility. Pathologist Badan Palhares, who reportedly was the physician who autopsied one of the creatures, officially denied any involvement in the events, but did state that he may have more to say at a later time. Could this be a hint of an announcement to come? Several reports of UFOs were also made during the period in question, and it is surmised that the strange beings were occupants of the flying craft. There is also a possible connection to the Chupacabra monster, who has been reported many times in the South American area. The story of the Varginha entities are largely a product of Ufologist Vitorio Pacaccini, who claims to have received firsthand reports from military and hospital personnel who spoke "off the record." The Varginha, Brazil accounts are still in need of more "official" confirmation, but such is the case of many reports of this type. Hopefully, we will receive information to shed new light on this tantalizing case. Besides the drawings of the entity, there is also a UFO video taken on the same night over Varginha:



The following article is by ufologist Claudeir Covo. Published in the Brazilian new-age's magazine "Planeta", September 1996 Issue. Translation by Pedro Cunha.

THE VARGINHA's ETs
By Claudeir Covo

The Engineer Claudeir Covo is the president of INFA - Instituto Nacional de Investigacao de Fenomenos Aeroespaciais, as well as taking part of the front line of the group of ufologists who are researching the Varginha Case.

Of the 120,000 inhabitants [of Varginha], several hundreds saw something strange in the day and following of 20th/Jan/1996, but only a few dozen of people, some civilian and some military, truly national heroes, had the courage to come to the public, or looked for ufologists who are investigating the case, and reported what they saw. Many civilian people had a direct or indirect participation in the facts, but unfortunately the great majority lost courage before the press and the ufologists.

The fear to "open one's mouth", to the military, is perfectly understandable, as the reprisals are grave, that is, military prosecution, humiliation, jail, transfer (invisible punishment), removal, expulsion, etc., but, by the civilian people, it doesn't make sense. Of the countless names that we have in our hands, of people that lost the courage, in the future, in the right moment, will be published by the press. The ufologists in the front line of this case are writing a book, and soon we will have news of a great movie production from North America. Contacts have been done. The Roswell case is small before what happened in Varginha.

It won't be strange if Steven Spielberg gets interest for the case. Thus, television, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema, books, etc., are and will continue to register the historic facts, as well as praising the name of the heroes and revealing the names of those who lost courage. There is still time for those people to look for the ufologists and talk about what they saw and heard. It is a matter of revealing the truth to the public. All the population should stop and evaluate what the press is divulging. It's time to stop teasing and to reflect about the facts. Don't forget that several ufologists who got involved in the Varginha Case are lawyers, entrepreneurs, engineers, medical doctors, etc. Such persons will never "waste time" if there wasn't something of real and concreet in the facts.

The first conclusion drawn by ufologists, not a definite one, is that the ship had one of its ends damaged by an explosion, which scattered a great quantity of small metal pieces around the region, and the ship still remained in the air during some time and after that it crashed, near to Jardim Andere, probably wounding part of its crew, which seeked for shelter in the woods near the quarter block. THERE ARE MILITARY PEOPLE ASSURING THAT THE SHIP WAS RECOVERED AND SENT TO USA. This fact hasn't been confirmed so far.

From a distance of 100 meters there were some bricklayers and hod carriers, who were filling up a cement slab, and followed all the military movements there. As for the adults and the children who were there, they went up the road, and Henrique Jose de Souza, a bricklayer, asked them what the military people were doing in the gully, and they said they had captured a strange creature (see picture - Illustration by Ricardo Giraldez, Isto E' magazine). At least two military people assured that this being was kept in captivity in ESA, for 24 hours. After that it was put in a cage, and BY HELICOPTER DEPARTED TO BRASILIA, and after that a jet airplane have gone to the USA with it. Such fact also is still not confirmed.

A military person in Campinas said that one of the creatures was helping another lying on the ground, apparently wounded. Perhaps this creature had shown an attack reaction sign against the military people and ended up hit on the chest by three FAL shots. The military person informed that one of these creatures was different from the others, with black fur covering its body. Such information is still not confirmed and is under investigation by the ufologists.

On the following day, Sunday, cars were observed arriving at Humanitas with number plates from Belo Horizonte, with military people, as well as medical doctors from USP (University of Sao Paulo) and UNICAMP (University of Campinas). We still don't know what kind of treatment the beings have or had, since we don't know if the being that was shot three times (FAL) was also taken to the Hospital. Everything points out that it was. The examination, X-rays, photographs, the films and thousands of other details remained restricted to the military people.

[about the transport operations from the Hospital to ESA (Jan.22 1996, 4:00 PM) and then to Campinas (Jan.23 1996, 4:00 AM)]:

The ESA, with the help of three Mercedes Benz trucks, 1418 type, covered with tarpaulin on the top, and many vehicles without identification, surely working for the Intelligence Service (S-2), starts the retreat action of the beings from Hospital Humanitas. A series of manoeuvres to elude, through the town, with the help of portable communication radios and mobile telephones, one by one each truck parked backwards on the side door of the Humanitas Hospital. (...) A special security scheme was made for the arrival of the trucks at ESA. One of them ended up going through a road, against the traffic, right in front of the side gate of the quarter. A special security scheme was made to "take care of the trucks". When the trucks returned to ESA, in Campestre quarter, they were seen by Dr. Marcos A. Carvalho Mina, veterinary doctor in Varginha's Zoo. (...)

A special convoy leaves ESA towards Campinas. A Kombi van is ahead, the three trucks in line and behind other several vehicles without identification. Five hours journey. (...) Employees of the laboratory where Dr. Badan Palhares (see picture) works, thought it strange the fact that, on the arrival of the beings to the lab, they were asked to leave the place, fact that had never happened before.

At least three military people informed that one of the beings was taken to a secret underground laboratory underneath Clinicas Hospital, inside UNICAMP. They also informed that there is another underground laboratory underneath the Biology Building. And another creature had been taken to one of the IML (Legal Medical Institute) refrigerators where the morgue of the Amarais Cemetery is. Several military people informed they had never seen this place so well guarded as in February, March and April, 1996. Also, the number of military people seen within this period, circulating in UNICAMP was frightening.
One of the military people informed that in one of the trucks THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF TINY UNKNOWN METAL FRAGMENTS. Probably the fragments are from that ship sighted by the couple, Eurico and Oralina, apparently damaged. Therefore, in this big puzzle, we conclude that the three trucks that went to Campinas were carrying in the first of the convoy a dead being, in the second another dead being and in the third the metal fragments.

[Military versus aliens in the skies of Varginha and Southern Minas region]:

January 23rd, 1996 - A Buffalo airplane leaves the Canoas Air Force Base in Rio Grande do Sul state [Brazil]. Inside it there were three containers, a box and many military people. In the first container there were generators, in the second the receiver equipment and computers, and in the third a small workshop. In the box there was a disassembled antenna. In other words, a portable sophisticated radar (see picture). The airplane went to the South of Minas. This radar must have been installed in some region or town near Varginha. At this time THERE WERE MANY ALIEN SHIPS FLYING OVER THE REGION. Military people from within ESA said that on a certain night they were worried with the hypothesis of a retaliation from the extra-terrestrials.

At this time, several military people from the USA Army and U.S. Air Force arrived at ESA by helicopter. An area within ESA was interdicted. Several agents from the Intelligence Service (S-2) and from various points of the country were sent to ESA. Local inhabitants, of many years, had never seen such activity in ESA. That was something to call the attention of even the most 'naive'. If they were trying to hide something from the public, they failed in their methodology. The Military people who took part in the operation, and even today, ARE BEING OBSERVED AND FOLLOWED BY S-2. Even today, the situation is not good in ESA. Recently, some of the military people from ESA said that "inside here, things are heating up". They also said that if General Lima and Lieutenant Colonel Olimpio hear someone pronouncing the name "ET" or Pacaccini, they will get at least 10 days in jail.

[about NASA activities in Campinas' secret laboratory]:

January 26, 1996 - Several NASA Military officers arrived at UNICAMP [University of Campinas]. The official excuse was that they wanted to select Brazilian scientists to take part in future space missions with the Americans. Probably they were military officers who know deeply the details about flying saucers and extra-terrestrial beings. Military people said that the American military personnel was working together with Brazilian military people inside the underground laboratory. The proportion is 50% of Brazilians and 50% of Americans. Certainly, if there is a list with the names of the Brazilian scientists, those scientists will only travel in their dreams in the space shuttle. They will remain the rest of their lives thinking about that possibility.

[about the security scheme inside university's hospital in Campinas]:

January 28, 1996, 7:50 PM - Mrs. Thereza Christina Starace Tavares de Magalhaes Teixeira, wife of the deceased Mayor of Campinas, Mr. Adalberto Magalhaes Teixeira, was forbidden to enter the "Hospital das Clinicas" (HC) at UNICAMP, where her husband was when sick. She was very upset at the lack of organization of the local security scheme. With the help of a mobile phone, after explaining that she was the wife of the Mayor, on the arrival of Dr. Otavio Rizzi Coelho the problem was resolved, and she was allowed inside. Some people believe that on this night the body of the extra-terrestrial was sent to HC for some type of examination, and the whole place was "closed" for security reasons, resulting in this confusion. Mrs. Thereza entered inside because she was the Mayor's wife. The same didn't occur with other people that were prohibited to enter into HC.

March 1st, 1996 - The American Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, signed with the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations, Felipe Lampreia, the "Agreement of Cooperation for the Pacific Use of External Space"... A question hangs in the air. Would that be something to do with the Varginha Case?

March 2nd, 1996 - The general administrator of NASA, Daniel Goldin, visited the installations of the [Brazilian] National Institute of Space Research, the INPE, and signed agreements of space cooperation between the two entities. There had been such agreements in the past, but it's the first time that the principal director of NASA comes to the country to get to know the national scientific display. People who are following the Varginha Case, civilian and military, believe that the presence of David Goldin and of Warren Christopher in Brazil involves agreements in relation to the beings captured in Varginha, and also a form of "justifying" the presence of military staff who acts inside NASA at UNICAMP.

[about the alien sighting in Varginha Zoo's restaurant - April 21st, 1996, 9:00 PM]:

In 12 days, 5 animals mysteriously died: two deer, a tapir, a blue macaw and an ocelot. (...) The vet Dr. Marcos sent the entrails to Belo Horizonte for examinations. (...) At the time at the end of Jan. 1996, when everyone was commenting about the extra-terrestrials in the town, Dr. Leila Cabral [the other Zoo's vet] met a fireman and joked to him: "You captured the ET and I will look after him". Frightened, the fireman told her to keep quiet and asked her not to comment about it to anyone.

[about the press conference held by ESA Commander - May 8th, 1996, 11:00 AM]:

ESA's Commander, Brigadier General Sergio Pedro Coelho Lima held a press conference and read a clarifying note, saying that no element or material from Escola de Sargento das Armas had any connection with the alleged facts. At the end, a reporter from EPTV asked him where were [in Jan.20-22 1996] the other military people that were cited? He answered: "working for the Army and the Nation". EPTV: Can you prove that? Gen. Lima: Prove to whom EPTV: To the press. Gen. Lima: We don't have anything to prove and what I had to say was read in this note.

Thus, Gen. Lima turned his back and left, leaving the reporters totally convinced that something really strange had happened in Varginha.

[about the Brazilian military High Command unprecedented meeting in Campinas base]:

May 29th, 1996 - In almost absolute secrecy, for the first time in Brazil, a state Minister met with the Armed Forces High Command outside the capital of the country [Brasilia]. A historical fact. The Army's Minister Zenildo Zoroastro de Lucena, along with 29 generals, including the Armed Forces General Staff Chief, Gen. Paulo Neves de Aquino, the chiefs of management and departments and the eight military commanders of the area met together in Campinas, to carry out a task that would easily be carried out by military people of lower rank. [Officially] they visited the Escola Preparatoria de Cadetes do Exercito (Academy School for Army Cadets) to evaluate the EsPCex 2000 project, that aims at getting informatics into education and the creation of a modern teaching environment for the cadets as well as the installation of monitoring system by satellite. After visiting the 28th Armored Infantry Battalion (BAB) to evaluate the 16 computers already acquired from a total of 26, that aim to create administrative procedures and the preparation of soldiers. Thus, they went to EMBRAPA (a Brazilian Research center for Agriculture and related subjects) to get to know the geographic information system.

On the following days, they went to the town of Pirassununga (Sao Paulo state), to the 2nd Regiment of Combat Vehicles, a unity of the 11th Armored Infantry Battalion, to accompany the work being done to receive 40 Leopard Combat vehicles of German make, recently acquired. Military people from various places of the state of Sao Paulo, including the littoral, informed us that on the days before the visit of the Minister in Campinas, several meetings took place in Campinas, in Pirassununga (SP), in Braganca Paulista (SP), and probably also in other states, involving high rank military people. They said that everyone wanted to go to Campinas to look at the strange creatures. Disagreements and misunderstandings even occurred between some military people.

June 23rd, 1996, 11:00 AM - One of Ubirajara's friends, from Varginha, kindly provided his Seneca two-engine airplane. During 40 minutes we flew over all the region, from the farm of Eurico and Oralina, until the place where the strange creatures were captured. The main objective was to find out the place of UFO crash. We were looking for a depression in the ground, or for a clearing in the undergrowth or still some burnt area. Unfortunately, we had no success, but the photographic and videos' registers remained in this part of the research, as well as gratitude to the owner of the airplane and his pilot.

[Brazilian Congress supporting the Air Force against UFOs?]:

July 3rd, 1996 - In Brasilia, the Congress approves a project that allows the Brazilian Air Force to have powers to shoot down hostile airplanes.

The measure aims to give more power to the Air Force, in its combat against narcotrafic and contraband, being able to shoot down airplanes in clandestine flights who don't respond to identification orders. Of course, everyone now is asking what the Air Force will do if the target is a flying saucer. Certainly, because of former failures, to some extent, the Air Force will accompany the target from a distance, only registering the fact in photos and videos.

These beings are classified as Delta types. They are a species of trained animals and used by Alfa and Beta beings in more simple missions, as for collecting minerals and vegetals. They would be a species of simian of extra-terrestrial origin, as well as more intelligent than our simians. The ufologists have classified them as EBEs - Extraterrestrial Biological Entities. (...)

To explain the great activity by the military people from ESA, it was said that on that day they were greeting the new recruits, being that this occurred one week before. To explain the great movement of Army trucks in Varginha, it was said that the vehicles were sent to Automaco Enterprise to balance the wheels and to align the wheels for the driving, being that the vehicles were seen on Saturday and Sunday, period in which the Automaco is not working. (...) To explain the great activity of Military people at Humanitas Hospital, it was said that it was because of the arrival of new equipment to be used in heart transplants. Well, it looks like a joke. What does they have to do with new equipment ? Heart transplant in an extra-terrestrial? Only an idiot would buy that. (...)

CONCLUSION - The Brazilian Ufologists have no doubt about what happened in Varginha. All that was described here is only a part of the story. Many other facts will be discovered. It's only a matter of time. And the research continues...

VARGINHA TIMELINE:

Around 00:00 January 19-20 1997 NORAD WARNING OF A UFO GOING DOWN:

Around midnight between January 19-20 NORAD (North American Air Defense Command) contacts their Brazilian alike CINDACTA (I Centro INtegrado de Defesa Aerea e Controle de Trafego Aereo or Integrated Center on Air Defense and Air Traffic Control) and warns them of a UFO coming down over southern parts of Minas Gerais state. This is witnessed and leaked by both a Brazilian Air Force man and an employee at the radar facility at Air Force Base VI Comar, who received the information, all this according to John Carpenter and Ricardo Varela Correa.

Around 01:30 January 20 1997 UFO CRASH WITNESSED:

The farmworkers couple Augusta and Eurico Rodrigues were wakened by the roams of the farm cows and sheep. As they looked out the window to see what was up they saw the animals running from one side to the other. As they looked up the sky they saw a silent UFO without lights. John Carpenter gives us an image of the UFO:

"It was a submarine-shaped "mini-bus" that was trembling like a curtain and emitting smoke or fog as it descended to at least 5 meters above the ground. A military witness now admits that it crashed and he was part of the debris retrieval. Material was twisted and lightweight."

The Rodrigues couple's farm is placed in a coffee district located 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest from the town of Varginha, midway between Varginha and Tres Coracoes. The house sits at the edge of the road. And the UFO is believed to have crashed between 1:30 AM and 5:00 AM that night.

Early morning January 20 1997 UFO REMOVED:

An American civilian was present when the cigar-shaped UFO was loaded aboard a flatbed truck in the early morning of January 20 - a saturday, according to Brazil's UFO Magazine.

Early morning January 20 1997 ALIENS SPOTTED:

Between the alleged crash site and the outskirts of park Jardim Andere where the EBE later on was first spotted and captured, lays a forest. A probable scenario is that a number of EBE's outlived the crash and went by foot through the woods and ended up in the park of Jardim Andere 6 miles southeast. Local people immediately associated this spaceship with the EBE's who appeared 7 hours later.

There has also surfaced statements by a military source that a farmer (not Rodrigues) shot one of the EBE's that crawled out of the crashed cigar-shaped UFO.

08:00 AM January 20 1997 FIRST EBE CAUGHT IN CITY PARK:

College student Hildo Lucio Galdino, 20, who lives in the Jardim Andere section of Varginha, has reportedly told UFO investigators Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues and Vitorio Pacaccini that he saw one of the alien survivors shortly after 08:00 AM that morning. Opening his bathroom window, Hildo looked out and saw "a creature with oily dark brown skin crouched in the alleyway." The alien, which Hildo described as having "very small hands with three extremely long fingers, kind of like a starfish", ran away when Hildo cried out. The creature had no hair and no clothing and was 4-5 feet in height.

07:00 to 10:00 AM January 20 1997 ALIEN HUNT BEGINS:

Several calls comes to the fire department (as early as 7:00 AM) about some wild animal on the loose in the northern city-park Jardim Andere, like a jaguar or a peccary. And in a confidential taped interview a sergeant of the fire station confirms that at 9:00 AM the Fire Department of Varginha was required to capture a strange animal in the area. When four firemen arrived in a fire engine, they noticed that it was not a strange animal at all, and they also found the military already on the spot. The man in charge who send the four firemen to Jardim Andere to check the situation was Major Maciel. These firemen, at the moment they arrived there, called the major through radio and asked him to go there too as the situation was more complicated than they thought. The Major arrived aproximately 10:30 AM, but by then the capture of the EBE was already done. It was done with a net for wild animals and they used common gloves, but were afraid of radiation.

According to witnesses on spot there were some people, including children who threw some stone towards the EBE, who appeared apathetic to the way he was treated. He only gave away a noise similar to bees buzzing. The address of where the EBE was captured is in front of the house at Rua Suecia 3, Jardim Andere. The EBE was then placed in a wooden box with a white plastic canvas-cover, stretched hard to really make insight impossible, and transported away by an army truck. The military and firemen on the site was:

• Lieutenant Colonel Olimpio Wanderley - Chief of operations
• Lieutenant Tiberio
• Captain Ramirez
• Sargeant Pedrosa - Brazilian Army secret service S-2

Truck drivers from the ESA (military school, 25 kilometers from Varginha in the town of Tres Coracoes):

• Major Maciel, chief of the first operation of capture
• Corporal Cirilo
• Soldier Vassalo
• Soldier De Mello

All this is backed by a witness on the inside of the fire department with access to several classified information. Also by civilian witnesses like Henrique Jose da Silva.

Vitorio Pacaccini also says that there is proof of an existing videotape made by the army of one (or more) EBE's. First of all: many witnesses saw the army personal carrying a camcorder in the Jardim Andere park on January 20th 10:30 AM. Two reporters who were in Varginha were also approached by a person who identified himself as the-cousin-of-a-son-of-a-military-man-from-ESA. This person said that he could get access to a film recorded at ESA showing the creatures. He had already shown it to his cousin, who then offered it to SBT (Sistema Brasileiro de Televisao - Brazilian Television System), the second major TV network in Brazil. The boy wanted 70,000 reais ($68,000). He visited the station and discussed the deal with the network director but didn't close the deal and later the boy said that he wasn't able any longer to deliver the video.

Also a daughter of a Military Police-man (16 year schoolgirl) says that she has watched a "horrible film" that showed the captured creatures. As the girl's father realized the situation was dangerous, he vanished with the tape. Pacaccini says that he has many evidences that the film is still located in Varginha.

Morning January 20 1997 THREE SHOTS:

At the same time as the firemen capture the first seen EBE, more witnesses observed strange movements. A lawyer in Varginha and former military witnessed two planes that he recognized as F-5's, at very low altitude. As a former military man he noticed the planes were not in natural formation but in attack formation. He also witnessed army vehicles near the woods (close to where the firemen captured the EBE). He was passing there and saw a truck carrying about seven soldiers in green campaign uniforms (camouflaged) and some of them in plain clothes.

There is even more witnesses to their activity. A friend of this witness was in another position and says that he heard three shots and that the soldiers came back from the woods with two campaign sacks. One motionless and one moving. Another source has come forward and revealed that one of the soldiers shot one EBE three times in the chest and the creature died instantaneously. The gun would be a FAL-type (FAL - Fuzil Automatico Leve, or Light Automatic Rifle). The details around this are still being investigated by researcher Claudeir Covo. The military and fire department operation was held very quiet and smooth and both fire brigade and military did withdraw around 10:30-11:00 AM, along with the second military operation (which fired three shots). The net-caught-EBE is said to have been moved directly to the Escola de Sargento das Armas (ESA) - a military school in the town of Tres Coracoes, 25 kilometers from Varginha. The next following days a summerized number of 6 living EBE's and two dead was locked up at the ESA-base. Some curious civilians combed the park as the military/S-2 personal had left in their trucks, but found nothing. There is also information of a later S-2 (Brazilian Army secret service) operation at aproximately 7:00-8:00 PM on January 20, where an unnumbered of EBE's was caught in the park.

A total sum of 8 EBE's:

• 1 dead.
• 2 injured (1 later dead).
• 5 unhurt and living.

01:30 PM January 20 1997 SECRET AGENTS:

The lawyer who made the observation around 10:30 AM above says that he noticed another search team arriving at 1:30 PM stopping at the opposite side of an earthwork shortcut, as he was leaving his office. Another witness speak of a S-2 search-team in civilian clothes (haven't been able to find out how they was identified as S-2 men) around 1:30-2:30 PM in the same area. These two reports are probably of the same operation. They are believed to have found nothing.

15:30 PM January 20 1997 THREE GIRLS STUMBLES ON ANOTHER ALIEN:

Three girls, two sisters - Liliane Fatima Silva (16), Valquiria Fatima Silva (14) and their friend Katia Andrade Xavier (22 which has three kids), was on their way home (lives at Rua Tapajos - Tapajos Street) from their jobs as housemaids. As they are walking in the middle of the pathway in Jardim Andere (2 kilometers from the town center), Liliane Fatima looked over her left side and screamed. A creature with three protuberances on the head and dark greasy skin was about 7 meters away next to a wall of an old garage. The creature was squatting on the ground like it was hurt. This is from the Brazilian magazine "Isto E":

"It was squatting, with the long arms between its legs", recalls the girl. "At first I saw the eyes, enormous and red." Frightened, Liliane turned her back to the creature, while her sister Valquiria and her friend Katia continued to observe. "It was not animal or human, it was a horrible thing", says Katia. "It looked dumb, didn't make any noise", adds Valquiria. The creature, however, appeared to move slightly with the head and the three girls run away.

Forty minutes later, the mother of Liliane and Valquiria, Luiza Helena Silva (38), went to the spot to look for what had frightened her daughters (her husband Jose Lopes da Silva was at work as a bus conductor). She found nothing except a peculiar smell which other witnesses, who heard the rumor and hurried to the spot where the EBE was seen, described as ammoniac. The same smell was later reported independently by personal at the General Hospital where the alien was brought on the evening of January 20th.

Harvard professor and abduction researcher Dr. John Mack went down at the end of May and made a recorded interview with the three girls. To Carpenter, Mack has said:

"He would stake his career and his license on those three girls being truthful."

Afternoon January 20 1997 ALIEN HUNT CONTINUES:

During the afternoon people are watching a number of army trucks on patrol in the city and around 7:00-8:00 PM the military from the Escola de Sargentos, along with officers from the military police secret service (called P-2) once again entered the park (according to John Carpenter it happened at 11:00 PM) and captured an injured EBE (I haven't found any testimonies from witnesses to this capture). This capture was much more discreet that the first (10:30 AM), because the military arrived in plain clothes, using civilian cars. The creature was in the area, near the woods, where the military surrounded it and caught it.

Afternoon January 20 1997 EBE TAKEN TO REGIONAL HOSPITAL:

The EBE was immediately taken to the General Hospital in the town center where the doctor ordered that the creature must be moved on to the bigger and better equipped Humanitas hospital, where it was easier to maintain and hide from curious civilians. The Humanitas hospital is also located 1,5 kilometers from the town center (Varginha has 3 hospitals in all). A few nurses and personnel from Regional General Hospital had confirmed some facts and they were all suppressed. Individuals who had contacts with the second creature were advised to avoid press and UFO researchers and not to talk about it with anyone, not even their families or relations.

Researcher Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues came in contact with one of the nurses who was reluctant at first to talk about the commotion at the Regional Hospital but later revealed that one of the hospital-sections was closed for some hours in order to avoid access of employees, patients and visitors and that physicians came in from another town than Varginha.

According to her testimony, the director said that all that movement should be ignored, because "it was just a training for the doctors and military personal". According to the witness (a nurse) the meeting culminated with the following statement from the director:

"Here in Varginha there are people who like to deal with "cool things", I mean, supernatural, strange... It is probable that these people will look for you, specially that lawyer Ubirajara. TO THESE PEOPLE YOU MUST DENY EVERYTHING. I mean, do deny."

Police and army personal were guarding the closed hospital-section during the hours where the EBE was. But a number of civilians saw the creature closely and the rumor continued.

Another witness, a friend of Ubirajara himself, revealed that she had been in the hospital entrance at 10:30 PM, together with a friend of her. She asked the receptionist if it was true what the rumors said about the "little monster" received at the hospital. The employee confirmed, but also said that the creature had been moved to the Humanitas hospital. This is said to have happened around midnight between January 20, Saturday, and Sunday 21. So the nurse probably didn't know that the creature was still in the hospital waiting to be transported, but in the closed section. The transport was operated by the fire brigade.

Captain Alvarenga of the fire-brigade denies any participation from the fire brigades part to have moved the - now dead - EBE to Humanitas hospital. But right before he denied that Ubirajara had been in contact with the Regional Hospital director Mr. Adilson Usier, who confirmed that the Varginha Fire Department had participated in the corpse transport. Captain Alvarenga then said it was a mistake of Mr. Usier. Later Mr. Usier denies the statement himself to the Brazilian UFO Magazine, saying:

"We couldn't keep an extraterrestrial here, we couldn't deal with it, nothing but humans."

In the hospital the aliens would be treated by doctor Rogerio (an orthopaedist). He said:

"I don't know how you could waste your time with that kind of stuff, it's nonsense. There's no extraterrestrials." On the other hand the same doctor Rogerio said to a reporter from the Varginha news: "I don't know what it is (the ET), could be a freak (human), but I have never seen anything like it."

Evening January 20 1997 DEAD EBE MOVED TO ESA AND THEN TO CAMPINAS:

As all this going on, two Americans is reported to have checked into a motel closeby to the Regional Hospital with strange equipment. They were later observed both at the Humanitas hospital (with the equipment and a camrecorder) and at the restaurant Churrascaria Gaucha, at Avenida Dr. Campos Sales 515 in Campinas, late in the evening of January 21. John Carpenter says:

"Americans were known to have checked into a hotel with fake names who were apparently doctors. I know nothing about any equipment or their presence at the hospital".

All other military personal was forbidden to have their jackets on (!) and to use voice recorders, cameras and camcorders. Fire department and military police vehicles were seen outside the entrance with six men, as well as two men from the Army's secret service and some physicians. The two secret service agents met earlier a Lieutenant from S-2, who arrived in a white brown Volkswagen (Fusca type) and stopped beside the "Paes Mendonca" supermarket, in Varginha. Where from they were sent to the Humanitas hospital and were observed entring the hospital.

Mrs. Thereza Starace de Magalhaes Teixeira of Campinas told researcher Ubirajara that her husband, Adalberto, who was in the Humanitas hospital for an operation, saw the dead alien being wheeled out of the morgue on a gurney.

The dead alien was kept at Humanitas hospital for aproximately 30 hours before it was moved to the Escola de Sargento das Armas (ESA), where the military personal was stationed during the whole incident. The moving of the dead alien from Humanitas hospital took place at 6:00 PM on January 22nd and was witnessed by several witnesses. The hospital is located right by a little peripheral road, which leads directly to the Fernao Dias-highway, which links Belo Horizonte to Sao Paulo, and that made the transportation very discreet. Although, the drivers of the trucks (3 in all) didn't seem to know what they were carrying and was held outside the hospital area until the transportation started.

The same convoy would leave the school in Tres Coracoes at 4:00 o' clock A.M., on Tuesday, January 23rd. Destination: Campinas (a much bigger city upstate Sao Paulo) where the "cargo" would have been delivered to another military unit, probably the Army Cadets Prep. School.

All this operation was coordinated by lieutenant-colonel Olimpio Wanderley Santos", says Mr. Rodrigues. "We have the testimony of an army officer from the Escola de Sargentos in Tres Coracoes who was directly involved in the operation. He describes in detail everything that happened during those days", adds Mr. Pacaccini. In the 42-minute recording, this person says that decomposition had already begun and when the corpse left Hospital Humanitas the smell was pretty bad.

Interviews with some of the military who participated in this new operation, removing the creature from the Humanitas Hospital, declared that three Army trucks were used, each one driven by two different soldiers. It is believed that three trucks were used to remove only one body in order to [prevent] the soldiers from knowing in which truck it would be transported. The drivers and their [escorts] couldn't see the details of the operations, as they were kept outside the hospital area. Military personnel from the Army Internal Intelligence (called "S-2" in Brazil and extremely violent and repressive) were responsible for getting the corpse from the interior of the hospital, placing it in a box and then in one of the trucks."

This was observed by several people as the police had stopped all traffic to ease the route for the three-truck and Jeep convoy.

April 21st 1997 ANOTHER ALIEN SEEN:

On April 21st 1996, at 9:00 PM, Mrs. Therezinha Gallo Clepf (67), a housewife, sighted a similar creature (according to her description) that the girls saw in the park in January.

She was in a party at the zoo restaurant as she went out to smoke a cigarette on the porch. She saw the creature in the porch's parapet, only from the neck upwards. Mrs. Therezinha became very frightened and freezed, staying this way about five minutes, looking all the time at the creature on a 4 meter distance, without making any gesture. The difference between her description and the one made by the two da Silva-sisters and their friend was that now the creature had a helmet-like gear on it's head. It was in gold color. That stopped her from seeing the creature's ears. The rest was the same description: dark brown skin, bright and oily, a rounded face, red eyes, and didn't have any cheeks, nor beard, moustache or nose, and on the lips position there was only a cut.

End April 1997 MYSTERIOUS ANIMAL DEATHS AT THE ZOO:

Some days after Mrs. Therezinha's sighting of the creature outside the zoo-restaurant, five animals were found dead in the place. The zoo biologist, Dr. Leila Cabral, found traces of some toxic substance in one of the animals. The cause of death to the rest is still unknown and unexplained.

June 16 1997 TV SHOW:

The TV show "Programa de Domingo" identified the men involved in the three-truck convoy that transferred the aliens to Campinas, about 200 miles in distance, on January 23 at 4:00 AM. According to the broadcast, Lt. Col. Olimpio Wanderley Santos commanded the convoy, accompanied by two officers, Captain Ramirez and Lieutenant Tiberio, plus Sergeant Pedrosa from S-2, brazilian military intelligence. Corporal Cirilo and Sergeant Pedrosa drove the middle truck with the aliens inside. The other trucks were driven by Private Vassalo and Private De Mello. Also a Jeep (Engesa type) was part of the convoy. And from the Army Cadets Prep. School where the convoy stayed for 9 hours, meanwhile the dead alien was taken to the University of Campinas , where the famous physician Dr. Fortunato Badan Palhares (he was the one who autopsied German Nazi Mengele, about ten years ago) did an autopsy of the dead EBE. Palhares, as well as another authority involved, denies any such operation. But personal from the University has been seen in the Jardim Andere park collecting soil and vegetation samples from where one of the EBEs was reported to have been caught. And researcher Eduardo Mondini came up with this:

"We managed to contact IML (Instituto Medico Legal - Institute of Legal Medicine) and the Army's headquarters in Campinas, but both authorities deny the exhumation. However, we found a military from Campinas who allegedly saw a document over his commander's desk, proving the E.T. had been in Campinas. We got with an employee of IML the information that on January 20-26 there had been military movement inside IML, in the Army's private drawers, in order to get a body in or out there."

There is also information of an autopsy made at the Humanitas hospital in Varginha by the same - Dr. Fortunato Badan Palhares, and Dr. Coradin Nesve. And that the dead alien later was taken to the Amarais Cemetery near the University of Campinas, where it was frozen for shipment. But probably it is the same autopsy made at Campinas University and the body later frozen, also in Campinas.

At 9:00 PM, the 6 living EBEs were driven to Campinas airport where they were put aboard a twin-engined EMB Buffalo owned by the Forca Aerea Brasileira (Brazilian Air Force) and flown to Sao Paulo, where they changed plane to a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane. THE ALIENS WERE THEN MARCHED ABOARD THE C-17. And according to sources in the Sao Paulo tower, the C-17's destination was Albrook Air Force base in Panama. And there the trail disappears... If the two dead aliens were aboard, we don't know. But researcher Claudeir Covo says that he has been given independent statements from several guards that one of the dead aliens is still at the University-lab in Campinas:

"Three military men, one from Campinas, one from Jundiai and another one from Sumare gave us that information. They do not know each other", assures Covo. We are in no doubt about the laboratory real existence. We are now just trying to gain access to it."

According to Covo, the secret laboratory is guarded and occupied by Brazilian military personnel. The equipment resembles that of a Sci-fiction movie. It's being studied by Konradin Nesve II, a German Professor and forensic expert.

Ufologists are puzzled by the finding last week of 25 mutilated corpses of animals in Souza district, Campinas. According to Covo, 13 dogs and 12 cats have had their eyes plucked out, apparently with the aid of instruments of surgical precision. The sexual organs of male animals had also been cut off before being brought to UNICAMP - University of Campinas.

"All these circumstances point out to some type of research carried out by extraterrestrials on some animals", ended Covo. For him, this case could be related to that of Varginha.

DENYING EVERYTHING - Now, what about the military, fire department and police statements to this incident ?

The military denies everything, up to a point of not even have been in the Jardim Andere park despite witnesses. The military has a problem as 17 of their own personal involved has spoken on recorded testimonies and even camcorders. Among them is a 42-minute tape where a military officer in high position gives every detail of their involvement (this according to investigators Rodrigues and Pacaccini). The military leaders has placed the military-school soldiers at ESA under strict orders not to talk to the press or ufologists.

And then there is the hospital-staff that has given testimonys and statements that confirms the story. To that we can add the Regional Hospital director's contradictory statements to the researchers and press.

And finally we have a great number of official and "protected" civilian witnesses to the army's several operations and capture of the EBE in Jardim Andere and convoy-movements.

To that, there is a mystic case where a boy of a high placed local politician was founded dead in a police cell a week after the incident. The military has tried to explain the whole incident to be caused by that boy's death and the transportation to the Humanitas hospital. The military means that everything is a mix-up with that, not yet, cleared incident.

This is from "The Wall Street Journal" interview with Captain Calza:

"Capt. Calza says he can't vouch for what the three women saw in January. But the activity on the base that fateful weekend, he insists, was anything but otherworldly: New inductees to a sergeant's school went on parade and a truck convoy was driven to the repair shop. Concurrently, at the town hospital, trucks delivered new cardiovascular equipment and an ambulance dropped off an exhumed corpse, a human body, officials insist."

But the exhumed boy who was found dead in his cell was found A WEEK after the proclaimed incident in Jardim Andere and the hospital. And a military man at the ESA camp has told Pacaccini (on videotape) that he saw a folder about the EBE on a officer's desk. In the folder was a description and drawing of the EBE's hand. This is from Wall Street Journal: "The print is said to resemble what a human hand would look like with the palm flat, and a space opened up between the ring and pinky fingers and the other three digits."

November 1-4 1997, UFO CONGRESS:

Big International UFOlogy Congress in Londrina, Parana, Brazil. Speakers were A.J.Gevaerd, Pedro Cunha, Jenny Randles, Jerome Clark, Dr. John Mack, Jorge Martin, Kevin Randle, Leah Haley, Marc Davenport, Timothy Good, Vitorio Pacaccini and William Bramley.

1997, WITNESS OFFERED MONEY TO DENY:

One of the most significant developments are the four men that arrived at the home of [Luisa Helena] da Silva, the home of two of the girls who stumbled on the EBE 15:30 PM on January 20. The four men were driving a Navy blue 1994 Lincoln Continental with Distrito Federal (Brasilia) license plates. They all wore white and cream Armani suits. The four men, one Brazilian and three American, offered the mother Luiza Helena Fatima da Silva $20,000 if the girls would go on the TV and say that they made the whole story up. The girls and their mother refused. "They said they would pay cash", "they also said they would come back but we cannot hide the truth", says Mrs. da Silva in UFO Roundup's June issue. And we know that there has been a cover-up at the military school outside Varginha and that all personal has been forbidden to talk to investigators like Rodrigues and Pacaccini. One soldier was arrested as the senior officer thought he was a security-risk. This was confirmed by people inside the base to researchers. And as the incident happened over a weekend and the military school is almost totally empty on weekends, aproximately 98% of the personal is unaware of the details.

LATEST UPDATES:

Details are popped up all the time which has helped to put together the presentation above. According to John Carpenter the researchers involved on location in Brazil, have been getting direct threats over the telephone and problems with the phonelines have continued since that. And UFO's have been observed in almost every city in Minas Gerais, and some of them are photographed and videofilmed.