The Varginha Affair

From TinWiki.org

In the city of Varginha Brazil, several people were said to have witnessed an unidentified flying object (UFO) crash, this was in April 1997. It has been alleged that the local fire department and the Brazilian army proceeded to take over the scene and events as they unfolded during that day and night. In the days after the alleged crash various witnesses came forward and said they had spotted alien beings that they said were trying to escape. The beings were reportedly shot at and hunted down by the military.

One alien body was said to have been recovered and an autopsy done on it at the local hospital, then the body was removed and taken to a more secure location. The Varginha case was aired on Brazilian T.V. and was then reported throughout the rest of the news networks. 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.

Timeline (1997)

The following is the timeline of the events of that day in accordance to the researchers that were investigating it.

Around 00:00 January 19-20

At approximately 12am on January 19-20 NORAD had apparently contacted their Brazilian counterpart CINDACTA (Integrated Center on Air Defense and Air Traffic Control). They were said to have warned them about a UFO that was apparently coming down over the southern part of Minas Gerais. Air force personnel and an employee at the radar facility at Air Force Base VI Comar allegedly witnessed this event.

Around 01:30 January 20

A couple who lived in a coffee district located 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest from the town of Varginha, midway between Varginha and Tres Coracoes, were awoken by the farms sheep and cows panicking in the fields. They were said to have looked out of their window and spotted a UFO in the sky above them. They later described what they saw researchers:

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.

According to varying reports the UFO is believed to have crashed between 1:30 AM and 5:00 AM that night.

Early morning January 20

A UFO described as being cigar-shaped was loaded aboard a flatbed truck, according to reports in a Brazilian UFO magazine an American civilian witnessed this event.

Early morning January 20

Between the alleged crash site and the outskirts of park Jardim Andere where an EBE was first spotted later in that day and allegedly captured, is said to lie a forest. It has been speculated that a number of EBE’s had survived the crash and fled to the nearby woods, ending up in the park of Jardim Andere 6 miles southeast. Statements that were given to researchers by a military source stated that a farmer shot one of the EBE’s.

08:00 AM January 20

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. He stated that he had opened his bathroom window and saw what he describes as:

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

The creature had apparently ran away when Hildo had cried out. The creature was said to have had no hair and no clothing and was 4-5 feet in height.

07:00 to 10:00 AM January 20

The fire department had apparently received several calls regarding some wild animals that were said to be on the loose in the northern City Park. This animal was described as being like a jaguar or a peccary. A sergeant of the fire station allegedly stated that at approximately at 9:00 AM the Fire Department of Varginha was required to capture a strange animal in the area, this was taped in what was deemed a confidential interview. Apparently when firemen arrived at the scene the military were already present and the creature that they were sent to capture was said to have been unlike any they have seen before. The man who had sent them there was a Major Maciel whom they called after arriving at the scene and allegedly told him that the situation was more complicated than was first thought. The Major arrived at the scene at roughly 10:30 am, the alleged EBE had already been captured with a net that was often used for wild animals.

According to witnesses on spot there were some people, including children who threw stones at the EBE, who they said appeared apathetic to the way he was treated. They said that the EBE only gave away a noise similar to bees buzzing.

The address of where the alleged EBE was captured is in front of the house at Rua Suecia 3, Jardim Andere. The EBE was then said to have been 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 said to have been on the site were:

Lieutenant Colonel Olimpio Wanderley - Chief of operations
Lieutenant Tiberio
Captain Ramirez
Sergeant 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

This information is said to be backed up by several witnesses who worked in the fire department and by civilian witnesses like a man named Henrique Jose da Silva.

A man named Vitorio Pacaccini states that there is proof of existing videotape footage of the EBE that was made by the army.

A person who identified himself as the-cousin-of-a-son-of-a-military-man-from-ESA also approached two reporters who were in Varginha. 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 was no longer able to deliver the video.

Also, a daughter of a Military Policeman (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

At approximately the same time as the firemen captured the first seen EBE, more witnesses came forward and stated that they had observed strange movements in the sky. 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 stated that 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.

Another witness who had a different vantage point stated that he heard three shots and then observed soldiers come out from the woods clutching two campaign bags. One was described as being motionless and the other one was observed as moving.

A witness also came forward and stated that he observed one of the soldiers shooting an EBE three times in the chest. He describes the gun used as an FAL-type (FAL - Fuzil Automatico Leve, or Light Automatic Rifle). The precise details of this are apparently still being investigated by the researcher Claudeir Covo.

People that observed the scene stated that the fire department and military withdrew from the scene at approximately between 10:30-11:00 am. The EBE that was allegedly captured was said to have been moved to the Escola de Sargento das Armas (ESA) - a military school in the town of Tres Coracoes, 25 kilometers from Varginha.

In the days that followed researchers came to the conclusion that 6 living EBE’s and two dead were locked up at the ESA-base.

There was also information given to researchers that a later S-2 (Brazilian Army secret service) operation at approximately 7:00-8:00 PM on January 20, had captured more EBE's in the park. A total sum of 8 EBE's that the researchers had came upon in their investigations:

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

01:30 PM January 20

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 speaks of an S-2 search-team in civilian clothes around 1:30-2:30 PM in the same area. Investigators stated that these two reports were more than likely of the same operation. They are believed to have found nothing.

15:30 PM January 20

Three girls, two sisters - Liliane Fatima Silva (16), Valquiria Fatima Silva (14) and their friend Katia Andrade Xavier (22, a mother of three), were on their way home from their jobs as housemaids. As they were walking in the middle of the pathway in Jardim Andere (2 kilometers from the town center), Liliane Fatima said that she had 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":

<blockqoute>"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.

Approximately forty minutes later, the mother of Liliane and Valquiria, Luiza Helena Silva (38), said she went to the spot to look for what had frightened her daughters. She said that 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 alleged 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."</blockquote>

Afternoon January 20

The researchers have stated that an EBE had been taken to the General Hospital in the town center. Where the was said to have stated 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). Individuals who had contacts with this 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 drill 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, especially that lawyer Ubirajara. TO THESE PEOPLE YOU MUST DENY EVERYTHING. I mean, do deny.

Police and army personal were allegedly guarding the closed hospital section during the hours where the EBE was.

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 hers. She asked the receptionist if it was true what the rumors said about the "little monster" received at the hospital. The employee confirmed this, 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. The transport of this creature was said to have been made 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.

Doctor Rogerio (an orthopedist) who had allegedly treated the aliens. He said:

I don't know how you could waste your time with that kind of stuff, it's nonsense. There's no extraterrestrial.

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

As this entire thing was going on, two Americans were reported to have checked into a motel close by to the Regional Hospital with strange equipment. They were later observed by witnesses at both the Humanitas hospital (with the equipment and a camcorder) and at the restaurant Churrascaria Gaucha, at Avenida Dr. Campos Sales 515 in Campinas, late in the evening of January 21. A man named John Carpenter had stated:

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.

Fire department and military police vehicles were seen to be 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. 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. According to people at the hospital the dead alien was kept at Humanitas hospital for approximately 30 hours before it was moved to the Escola de Sargento das Armas (ESA), where the military personal were said to have been 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 apparently witnessed by several people.

According to Mr. Rodrigues Lieutenant-colonel Olimpio Wanderley Santos apparently coordinated all these operations and Mr. Pacaccini another researcher stated that:

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.

April 21st

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 states that she was at a party at the zoo restaurant when she stepped outside 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 froze, 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, according to researchers, was that now the creature had a helmet-like gear on its head. It was described as being gold in color, this, she said, had 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

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

The TV show "Programa de Domingo" apparently 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. Private Vassalo and Private De Mello drove the other trucks. 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 the 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 EBE’s 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 ET 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 of there.

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

At 9:00 PM, the 6 living EBE’s were allegedly 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. And according to sources in the Sao Paulo tower, the C-17's destination was Albrook Air Force base in Panama. 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 science fiction movie. Konradin Nesve II, a German Professor and forensic expert are studying it. 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 to some type of research carried out by extraterrestrial on some animals", ended Covo. For him, this case could be related to that of Varginha.

Denying everything

The military denies everything, up to the point of not even have been in the Jardim Andere Park, despite witnesses' testimonies that were saying otherwise. The military had a problem, as 17 of there own personnel 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 had placed the military school soldiers at ESA under strict orders not to talk to the press or ufologists. Amongst the varying witnesses were hospital staff, including the Regional Hospital director's contradictory statements to the researchers and press. There is also said to have been a great number of official and "protected" civilian witnesses to the army's several operations and capture of the EBE in Jardim Andere, and to the convoy movements.

According to some people there was a mystery case where the son of a high-placed local politician was found dead in a police cell approximately a week after the incident. The military apparently explained the whole incident as being the transportation of the dead boy to the Humanitas hospital. They also stated to press and researchers that it was all a huge mix up.

This is apparently 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 had told Pacaccini (on videotape) that he saw a folder about the EBE on an 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.

1997, witness offered money to deny

Considered to be one of the most significant developments in this case was the four men that allegedly 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. According to them 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.

UFO Magazine, Issue #45, August 1996

The following two reports were made in UFO magazine:

Ufologist Claudeir Covo:

Although the military and civilian authorities deny everything, several sources have decided to talk. One of these sources affirms that a local farmer killed one of the beings with a gun.

Another source said he saw a lot of military people in plain clothes, tracking the little Jardim Andere woods, in Varginha. One of these men would have shot, for three times, an alien creature in the chest, killing it almost instantaneously. The gun would be an FAL-type [FAL - Fuzil Automatico Leve, or Light Automatic Rifle] . These situations are still under investigation; we do not have yet recorded testimonies of military sources about these firings, but the investigation is ongoing.

...Which right the human beings (civilian or military) would have to murder alien beings? What is foreseen in the Brazilian Constitution? What about the other countries' legislation? Looking through the religious side, what say God's Laws, or the Ten Commandments?

Ufologist Marco Antonio Petit:

Recently, new information [on the Varginha case] started to arise, including the one who says there are metallic fragments of a crashed spaceship, which documents this mysterious aspect of the case. This material may be connected to the UFO sighted at daybreak of January 20th 1996, because it was releasing something that seemed to be smoke, and it moved slowly.

We live the last moments of a process that will put our Humanity face to face with a reality that we may not be prepared to face. Fifty years of lies may lead a considerable part of the population into an abyss (...). Something very important will happen in the next years and the Governments must assume their responsibilities, while they still can do something, because time is running...

Investigations

The following statements were made by two of the researchers who had initially investigated the incident.

Ufologist Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues:

The Saturday that the ET capture took place, January 20th ‘96, I wasn’t in Varginha. The day after, Jan 21st, I arrived at about 10: 30 a.m. and received a call from a storekeeper who owns a shop in the center of the town, Mr. Milton. He had asked if I had knowledge of what happened the day before and he told me that some girls had seen a weird animal, something like a little monster.

That same night, as I realized that the rumor was already spreading throughout the city, I called Milton again to get further details. An employee of his shop would have more information. She knew the people that had seen the strange being. The girls live at Rua Tapajos [ Tapajós Street ], Varginha, to where I went. I asked a near storekeeper if she knew the girls, she said so, adding that "she had also observed the movement around that area regarding the case". This lady said she was friend of Luisa (the girls’ mother) and that she was told the girls arrived at home scared, that afternoon. They were screaming, crying and shaking. They had seen something very ugly.

Meanwhile, the rumors continue to spread through the city. Some people said the creature was captured and taken to the "Hospital Regional" [Regional Hospital], that it had a big belly, seemed to be pregnant, and made a noise, like if it was crying.

(First week of investigations)

I began to investigate and was helped by a friend, Sergio, director of TV Princesa, a local TV station. We got access to a boy who said he was present at the capture. But his words didn’t make any sense, he was too childish, and very confused. We also got access to a woman, which ran away the moment we approached her. Her husband tried to convince her to give us some info, but she refused.

Finally, we found the girls (see picture - photo by Carlos Fenerich, Isto E' Magazine) and took their testimony. They were two sisters whose mother, Mrs. Luisa, received me a little suspicious. I identified myself as a UFO researcher and lawyer, and explained my interest in the situation. I’ve got extremely impressed with what they told me, specially the older girl, Liliane, 16. When she was telling me what happened, she burst into tears. Then, I asked them to introduce me to the third witness: her friend, Katia, 22 that also cried when we met.

I asked them to take me to the place where all had happened. They told that when they were in the middle of that pathway, they saw a strange being squatted in the ground. To Valquiria, the younger, "that appeared to be a giant ox heart". They realized that it was something out-of-this-world, when they returned to the street and went away, running.

After hearing the entire story from her daughters, Luisa returned to the place to see if she could find any evidence, but she didn’t. Luisa felt a strange smell, very strong and impossible to be compared to anything else. The following days, I kept on talking to them, and asked them to repeat several times what they had seen.

(An extratarrestrial at the hospital)

This procedure is common in researches, because it helps to find contradictions in the testimonies. Meanwhile, the rumors continued to spread, increase, and gained consistency in Varginha. The whole city started to comment on the story.

In Varginha, there are three hospitals, however the rumors converged only to the Regional Hospital (see picture). It wasn’t possible to be sure of anything, especially, about which hospital would be involved with the fact. Everything was obscure, until I managed to talk to a nurse of Regional Hospital (which name cannot be revealed, in order to preserve her safety). She was very reluctant to receive and talk to me until, finally, she accepted to be interviewed. She revealed that, on Sunday, January 21st, a strange movement occurred at Hospital Regional. The fact involved physicians coming from out of Varginha, the Military Police and Army vehicles. However, she didn’t speak a word about the Fire Department.

One of the hospital sections, according to our source, was closed for some hours, in order to avoid the access of employees, patients and visitors. She also said that, on Monday, January 22nd, she was called, together with other employees, for a meeting at the director’s room. 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 personnel."

According to this witness, 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, especially that lawyer, Ubirajara. To these people, you must deny everything. I mean, do deny."

Later on, I spoke to a former pupil of mine, who said she was at the hospital entrance hall that Sunday, by 10: 30 p.m., 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, saying that the being was not there anymore, because it had been removed to another city's hospital, the "Humanitas". So, the women went there, too. Now, they were attended by a nurse who told them the following: "You cannot go inside to see ‘that’ and, even if you could, I wouldn’t advise you to... you wouldn’t like to see it."

The same time, some parallel witnesses, which live in the Humanitas region, said they saw troops movements at the lateral gate. This was everything I knew then. It was necessary to have stronger evidences. So I tried the military area, firstly Commander Mauricio, from the Military Police. When I met him, I identified myself and explained the situation. I asked him if he had knowledge of the rumors that the MP was involved in the capture case. His answer was negative.

He, then, offered to check it out, and verified that there were no records of such occurrence. Even thus, he asked me to contact him again, because perhaps he would find something. The next day, as it was scheduled, I called Commander Mauricio, but he didn’t attend me. I made about 50 phone calls to the quarter, but wasn’t attended. So I began to feel that something was wrong. They were hiding something.

A friend of mine managed to talk to a policewoman that was on duty at Saturday, January 20th, receiving the emergency calls, through the number 190 [the police number]. She revealed there were some calls: "In fact, some people called saying that they saw such a little monster, but we thought they were kidding and we didn’t give attention to them."

(Seeking the Fire Department)

Sérgio and me looked for the local Fire Department and Captain Alvarenga received us. The moment we identify ourselves, he got the bulletin of occurrences for Jan. 20th, in order to ‘prove’ there were no requests for the capture of a strange animal, or something. He simply had a defensive attitude regarding us.

During the interview, I excused myself and made a brief pause to drink some water, at the end of the corridor. I saw there two firemen talking, speaking loudly and fluently, as if they were making fun of me: "Yeah, it should be a giant frog," one said. "No, it should be a demon, ha ha ha," completed the other.

We followed to the Forest Police, where we were received in a very different manner. Their captain was friendly and said he likes Ufology. He stated that the Forest Police weren’t called at that occasion, but put himself on the line to share any further information.

We came back again to the nurse. She spoke with her colleagues in the hospital and, although they hadn’t seen anything, they were all unanimous in stating that there was a strange movement that day.

Meanwhile, the information that a strange being appeared in Varginha had already taken the local media. All the local press, newspapers, radio and TV stations had already covered the case, although I had my doubts about spreading the case in the [Brazilian] national media. Nevertheless, due to the difficulties of the investigation and the big cover-up, there was no other choice than calling the national media. Only this way we could pressure the authorities.

The same occasion, I was interviewed live at the request of Globo TV Network (local branch). Everything was going normal. In the middle of the program, however, something we weren’t expecting happened. The reporter took two faxes from over the table and talked: "We just received right now a communication from the Fire Department and another one from the Regional Hospital, denying everything. These two institutions say they weren’t called and have no involvement with it." Part of the Fire Dept. fax did the following statement: "This corporation communicates the people of Varginha that was NOT called to capture an extraterrestrial." This was said in the middle of the news.

I said, firstly, that I've never affirmed the captured being was alien. I've said only that it was an unknown and strange being (see picture). I’m very careful with the words. I made use of that chance and said that the UFO cover-up is such a thing that exists all over the world and started a long time ago.

After this interview, I decided to call the national media. I called the Ufologist Irene Granchi, in Rio de Janeiro, who contacted the journalism production of Globo TV Network [Globo TV is the major Brazilian TV network]. Since then, the case blew wide-open in the [Brazilian] media.

At the end of the second week of investigations, I called "Revista UFO" [UFO Magazine] and let them know the facts. In the third week, a researcher from Belo Horizonte (up to then member of CICOANI - Centro de Investigação Civil sobre Objetos Aéreos Não Identificados - Unidentified Aerial Objects Civilian Investigation Center) made contact with me. It was Vitorio Pacaccini. Since then we established a partnership in the researches, that now lasts over four months.

Ufologist Vitorio Pacaccini:

Before the Varginha Case has appeared in the media, I didn’t know Ubirajara yet. At first, I was investigating the case for CICOANI and had already contacted some people I knew from Tres Corações, MG [State of Minas Gerais] in order to gather information about the case, specially at ESA (Escola de Sargentos das Armas - Army's Sergeants School). This happened in the beginning of February. On Wednesday, in the carnival week, I received a call from a source that said, "it was time to the jaguar to drink the water." In our language, it meant that some important witness was about to talk. The name of the witness, by now and for a while, can't be revealed. I don’t want to put anybody in jail or harm people’s lives.

So, on this Wednesday, I went to a friend’s home where he introduced me to the first witness. After some minutes of conversation, this military man began to speak about the subject.

(Fire fighters are really involved)

Everyone in Brazil knows that when there is a problem with animals, like a wild beast escaping from the Zoo, for instance, the Fire Department is called. However, the first phone number that comes to one’s mind in a danger situation is 190 (the police number). So, we’ve concluded that firstly the police was called and then, they forwarded it to the Fire Department.

According to our source, in the morning of January 20th, the Fire Dept. phone was ringing over and over. It was people informing the appearance of a weird animal in a certain region in Varginha, and requesting some attitude, to catch it. It is important to emphasize that these phone calls started very early that morning, between 7 and 8 a.m., consequently before 3 p.m., when the girls sighted the creature.

In the occasion, the man in charge was Major Maciel, who would have sent four men to check the situation. These firemen, at the moment they arrived there, called the major through the radio and asked him to go there too, once the case was much more complicated than it seemed before. "Major, you’d better come here, Sir. Even the Army is already here." So, the Major followed to the place, approximately at 10:30 AM.

When they reached there, the capture had already been done. There were some people, including children that threw some stones towards the creature. The four firemen caught the being with a net (similar to that used to catch dogs). They were using common gloves, but were afraid of radiation. The creature didn’t show any reaction, staying totally apathetic and letting itself to be caught. It made a noise similar to the bees buzzing. It was put in a canvas-covered box and transported by an Army truck.

This witness is extremely trustworthy, knows everyone in the Fire Department and got access to several classified information. However, he is very afraid of revealing what he knows even to his closest people, due to the dangerous situation.

According to the description, the creature had sticky skin (seeming to have put oil on the body), red eyes, big head with protuberances, and long and thin arms, short and thin legs, big feet and a big salience at the abdomen. It had no kind of clothing, as well as any apparent genitals. In the ESA truck that conducted the being, there were two sergeants and one major, all of them with ‘gaúcho’ accent [Note from T.: gaúcho = somebody who was born or lives in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul]. All these information were given in a 45-minute interview. The witness was emphatic, saying that the Fire Department command had knowledge of the whole operation, and that Captain Alvarenga simply lied when he said he didn’t receive any notification.

All of these reveals that somebody is lying in this case and it seems that it’s not the witnesses... - because they wouldn’t gain anything with it.

I made contact with other military witnesses from Tres Corações in secret meetings. One of them, by the way, went to my house at 3 a. m. together with his wife. He explained to me how the Army’s Secret Service works. It has a very-well-implanted unity in the city, with people taking turns over and over, in order not to be recognized. These "S-2", as they are known, blend with the civilians, often use mustaches, long hairs, drive old cars and behave as civilians. This one that came to my house said the capture had been extremely favorable to the Army, because it happened in a weekend (when ESA stays practically empty, only with guards) and also due to the fact that the secret service members could enter or leave at any time, without giving explanation to anybody. Inside ESA, there is a shed where the S-2's works, surrounded by enormous security. Even the quarter’s officers have no access to that place.

We’ve had a good support from the media, which is trying to show the facts as they are. If the media, or I should better say, part of it, like Luiz Petry (director of "Fantástico") ["Fantastic" - Brazilian popular TV show, aired by Globo Network], didn’t run for it, seeking information, everything would have finished with no explanation.

(UFOs flying over southern Minas Gerais)

While the Varginha case blew wide open in national press, it began a big UFO wave over the region. Cities such as Varginha, Alfenas, Boa Esperança, Tres Corações, Bandeira do Sul, São Gonçalo do Sapucaí, Campanha and many others were taken by unidentified objects sightings. The population noticed that something serious was happening and several people came to us reporting sightings, contacts or recent news about the capture.

At that time, end of February, I met an old friend that I hadn't seen for a long time. He knew a military that was involved with the capture operation. We managed to meet him and heard his report. The more he revealed, the more everything became incredible. This military man gave the names of people directly involved with the case: Colonel Olímpio Vanderlei and Sergeant Pedrosa. The interview with this eyewitness of the facts was made by Ufologist Marco A. Petit and me AND RECORDED IN VIDEO as a guarantee of proof. In this tape, we ask the witness if there is the possibility of somebody attempting against his life, and he said so.

More witnesses are discovered. Later on, we managed to contact another military witness. He was very reluctant in speaking with us, but when he realized the subject was already spreading, he got courage to tell what he knew. For his surprise, nobody at ESA knew anything, because there was a disinformation operation inside the Sergeant's School itself (see picture). Talking with us, he described the fact exactly the same way that the other did before.

Only few people inside ESA know details of the operation. Everything there is top secret. The school's military contingent is over 3.000 men and, for sure, about 98 % of them don't know anything. There are also other military witnesses that confirm the information we have. We know two people that have been directly involved with the catch and transportation of the being. Obviously, they can't be identified, because their lives would be in danger.

(Names of the people involved)

After we placed together all the information on the case, we obtained the names of military personnel directly involved with the case: Lieutenant-Colonel Olímpio Vanderlei, Captain Ramires, Lieutenant Tibério (from the Army Police) and Sergeant Pedrosa. We also know the names of the three drivers: Corporal Vassalo, Soldier Cirilo and Soldier De Mello.

They met a Lieutenant from S-2, who arrived in a white brown Volkswagen (Fusca-type) and stopped beside the "Paes Mendonça" supermarket, in Varginha. This lieutenant sent all of them, by Fusca, to the Humanitas Hospital, where they did some kind of secret operation.

Arriving at the hospital, there was a wooden box tied on two trestles, and one of the S-2 agents was carrying a camcorder. The other military men received orders to take their jackets off and were forbidden of using voice recorders, cameras or camcorders. At that time, Military Police and Fire Department vehicles have been seen at the hospital's entry yard with six men, as well as two men from the Army's secret service and some physicians.

The dead creature was put inside the box (see picture), which was closed by a plastic canvas and placed into the truck. The truck body covering had been strengthened in order to really hide the being. At that time, especially on January 22nd, the whole city was commenting on the strange ESA trucks' movements. It was impossible not to notice that... Everyone commented and the rumors increased.

The convoy's route to Tres Corações was easy. Reaching the city, there were already policemen waiting and holding the traffic. It seems that the convoy's drivers didn't know what they were transporting. One of them, in his testimony, said he thought it was a burnt man, a suicide, or something. He also said the creature had a terrible bad smell. Because there were three trucks involved, we suppose that, maybe; there were three creatures. But this can't be said for sure.

By 4 a.m., the same convoy followed to Campinas, where - according to our sources - the creature was necropsied. At this time, there has been a meeting with some officers, when it was emphasized that all this operation was secret, classified and all must be kept in silence.

The soldiers arrived at Campinas by morning. Even an Engesa-type Jeep, war model, was used in the convoy, among other military trucks. We don't know yet exactly to what military unit in Campinas the convoy was designated. Reaching the destiny, the box took another direction, which is still unknown.

We have concluded that they transported the creature to Campinas in order to put it on the hands of a professional from Unicamp [University of Campinas, a well-recognized Brazilian university]. According to our investigation, this professional is one of the most respected legists in Brazil and internationally known. We got access to this information trough a scientist of Unicamp, whose name must remain anonymous. This scientist even said he went to Varginha, where he picked soil samples and local vegetation from the place the being was sighted. Thus, it became obvious that the creature was taken to this university. There are no doubts that Unicamp is involved in the case.

Our scientist talked to some teachers, close people who often visit his house, and knew that there are orders from the [Brazilian] government, not to speak a word about the subject. As they told him, the head of the university is also oriented to keep this operation secret. The sources, that are reliable, say that the legist physician Badan Palhares (who is responsible for important necropsies, like the Nazi Joseph Mengele one) did the first necropsy in the creature.

Regarding the number of beings captured, it's still obscure. Analyzing the probabilities, we can say that there are at least two beings: the first was captured at 10:00 AM by the military forces, and the second was sighted by the girls at about 03:00 PM.

We already know how the first creature was captured, at 10:30 a.m., involving the Police, the Army and the Fire Fighters. But what about the second? How did it happen? As the witnesses revealed, it occurred at about 8 p.m. that Saturday, and it involved, this time, the Military Police's secret service [Note: also known as "P-2"] and the Fire Department. This capture was much more discreet than the first, because the military folks arrived in plain clothes and using civilian cars. The creature was at an area near the woods, which was surrounded by them, before they caught the being.

This information came from a well-known lady who lives in the city, member of the Varginha's "high society", that heard that a police soldier had caught the creature. This being would has been taken to the closest local medical station, where the doctor that was on duty advised them to take it to the hospital.

(An extraterrestrial in two Varginha’s hospitals)

There are evidences that the captured creature, for some reason, was taken to the Regional Hospital. But the men in charge of the operation must have concluded that that place was too central and not safe, deciding to take the being to a better place: the Humanitas Hospital (see picture), which is more well equipped and is located in a region far from the center of the town. This hospital lies beside a little peripheral road, which leads directly to the "Fernão Dias"Highway [Note from T.: which links Belo Horizonte to São Paulo]. It made the transportation very easy and discreet.

(Are they right?)

A source we have in Campinas said that Brazil is under strong pressure, warning that we may be sat over an atom bomb. According to his testimony, the whole capture and cover-up process goes deeper and deeper, beyond what we can imagine. So, we ask: are they right? Will it be true that some kind of battle between alien and military forces had already happened? Shouldn't be the Army the right channel to deal with this matter? And shouldn't be this whole operation classified? From our point-of-view, they could share with us the information they have. We'd love to help them, but it seems to be impossible.

What if a UFO crashed in my yard, which I am supposed to call? Obviously, the first thing I would do was to call the military authorities, because that's their job. As a matter of fact, we are concerned because we're reaching the conclusion that the Varginha Case is only the tip of an iceberg.

On the other side, the right to know must be respected.

(An alien in Varginha?)

There isn't in Ufology’s alien classification a being with such characteristics like that of the one seen at Varginha (see drawing - illustration by Vinicio Cunha, based on the girls' descriptions). That's something important to the world' s Ufology. This emphasizes the possibility of a genetically adapted creature, whose aim was to do some operation among us, terrestrials.

It is very likely that the Varginha's ET was some kind of animal created only to conclude a mission, which is still unknown to us. Or perhaps it would be some kind of probe, patrol, or monitoring of the human race. Ufology's classification is something relative.

The classification has a wide variety, but much of it is due to the different interpretations made by the people who describe and draw the beings.

A person who identified himself as the-cousin-of-a-son-of-a-military-man-from-ESA from Varginha searched two reporters here. This military's son would has got access to a film made at ESA showing the creature (or the creatures) and showed it to his cousin, who offered to SBT [Note: SBT = Brazilian Television System, the second major TV Network in Brazil] for the equivalent to US$ 68,000. Since then, the price has been reduced. There was a negotiation process with SBT, involving the SBT's board of directors in São Paulo, in order to get the movie. The young boy visited himself the local SBT station, but they didn't reach any deal. Some time later, he said it wouldn't be possible to do it, because some people were suspecting of him and he was in life danger.

This coincided with the fact that, on the same week, a Varginha citizen, with a good reputation in the city, came to us. He said that his 16-year old daughter and her school friend - daughter of a policeman from the M.P. - would have watched a "horrible" film that her father brought home. It was about the captured creature. As the girl's father realized the situation was dangerous, he vanished with the tape... We know this tape exists, and for obvious reasons: witnesses had already informed us that in the capture day one of the military men was using a camcorder. We have had many evidences that this film is here in Varginha.

Opinion of Brazilian UFO researchers

Varginha Case: the beginning of a new era in Brazilian ufology - by A.J.Gevaerd:

The Varginha Case is a breakthrough in Brazilian ufology. To our happiness, it happened right there in Varginha, Minas Gerais, involving two researchers that, besides serious, honest and very dedicated to Ufology, lives and know deeply the southern Minas region and its people. What if it hadn't occurred at Varginha?

The Varginha episode is a clock bomb whose wick was lit by these brilliant researchers. A bomb that put on alert all the Brazilian UFO community. Never, in all Brazilian ufology history, the researchers have been so united, from South to North, seeking together the same truth. This truth, when totally known, will change the face of Ufology itself and the way we look to the UFO Phenomenon.

On the other side, this will be also the first step towards a global change of consciousness regarding this subject, perhaps starting here in Brazil, the birthplace of so much richness - among them Ufology.

Irene Granchi:

The case presents a new angle in UFO research. I believe in its authenticity, because I interviewed the three girls who saw the being and they're NOT lying. I have known Ufologist Ubirajara Rodrigues for many years and I trust in his work and seriousness.

What we have here are many circumstantial evidences. Thus, we realize that the case is very well documented with these evidences. Regarding UFO cover-up, I think the military authorities don't have the right to do this, because we live in a democracy.

Varginha Case is bigger than Roswell - by Reginaldo de Athayde:

The Varginha Case is one of the most important UFO cases ever happened in the entire world. I see we have something superior to what happened in Roswell. I hope our friends, researchers from Minas Gerais state, join the other ufologists in order to get what we always desired: to prove the reality of UFOs, the existence of these mysterious objects that come here to visit us.

Case increases Ufology's credibility - by Claudeir Covo:

Without any doubt, Varginha Case is the case number one in Brazil. The seriousness that the researchers are showing when conducting the information and the work itself increase the credibility of Ufology. If we consider only the quantity of information already compiled, the richness of details and the several witnesses that have already appeared, we see that this case let Roswell very little.

The Roswell Case took about 30 years to become known to the public, while Varginha's leaked out at the first days. The researches are very well conducted, with several military testimonies in our hands, besides many contradictory authorities statements given to the press. This proves there is a cover-up process. These military witnesses had the courage to trust in the researchers, revealing what they knew and secretly recording it in video, giving important details.

Varginha Case: There is still a lot to be said - by Edson Boaventura JR:

It's the most important case of Brazilian Ufology and also worldwide, due to its implications. I'd say that even Roswell couldn’t be compared to Varginha Case, which is bigger than it is. I say this because I know that what the media has showed is only a short part of what exists. There is still a lot to be said, but this didn't happen yet because some details, if revealed, could identify the military witnesses. Because of this ethical reason, the researchers involved in this investigation are NOT revealing all the information they have.

Once I'm very close to the investigation, I see that the research is well documented, with testimonies of civilian and military witnesses that prove what happened on January 20th and on the following days. Even now, several months after the case, there are many details still coming up to the surface, as many other witnesses gain courage and start to reveal what they know to the researchers.

The strangest aspect is the alien physiology - by Ricardo Varella Corrêa:

The most important in this case are the little details connecting information from different sources, which are checking to each other. For instance, the ammonia-like smell felt either in the place the girls sighted the being, either in the city's Hospital. We also have to consider the great movement of military vehicles which is not common.

However, the strangest aspect is the creature's physiology, different from anything else ever seen. It is strange, because what we know about ETs is that they are very independent and, sometimes, even aggressive, whereas the Varginha creature had no reaction, seemed motionless. This had never been reported in the entire world. A hypothesis that is being considered by the ufologists suggests that the creature is some sort of 'animal-probe', put on Earth to gather some information.

The military involvement in Varginha Case - by Marco Antônio Petit:

I had knowledge of this case through the media. Since then, I've made many contacts with researcher Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues, who informed me it was really serious, involving a very strong cover-up operation. I've been in Varginha twice. There, I confirmed that this was the most important case of the Brazilian Ufology. I had the chance, one of the times, of being face to face to one of the military witnesses, who was directly involved with the operation. His testimony was extremely striking, showing the richness of details that involved the being capture. We have to support Pacaccini and Ubirajara's work, in a definitive way, because this case is unique.

To our happiness, there are military people who are NOT liking and disagree with this cover-up process. They're looking for us spontaneously, in order to say what they know. We know for sure that many things are gonna happen as the case unfolds.

There are also EVIDENCES OF A RECOVERED SHIP in Varginha - by Rogerio Porto Breier:

In the beginning, I heard about the case through the news gathered by GUG [Guarujá's (in State of São Paulo) Ufological Group]. On May 1996, I had the opportunity to go to Varginha. I thought it was too early to call these creatures as aliens, because there were no evidences they came from a ship." "Now, there are also evidences that a ship was recovered in the place. I think it's very likely, because only two or three days after the girls have sighted the being, Bandeirantes TV AIRED A REPORT on this subject: some people would have observed the RECOVERY OF A CREATURE FROM THE WRECKAGE OF AN OBJECT CRASHED in Varginha. This report fell into forgetfulness. It would be interesting if the ufologists checked it out, because nobody spoke a word about this anymore.

Alien was autopsied by a Unicamp team - by Eduardo Mondini:

I'm close to the investigations, helping Ubirajara and Pacaccini with information from Campinas. We're verifying the involvement of Unicamp (University of Campinas) and of IML (Instituto Medico Legal - Institute of Legal Medicine), and we suspect specially that the legist Badan Palhares has been heading the necropsy studies on the creature. We have no doubts that the ET was brought to Unicamp and then autopsied.

We managed to contact the IML and the Army's quarter 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 ET had been in Campinas. We got with an employee of IML the information that on January 20-26 1996 there was military movement inside IML, in the Army's private drawers, in order to get a body in or out there.

No touchable evidences - by Daniel Machado de Avila:

I have been in Varginha for two days last July [1.996] and later in Campinas, and I have interviewed several people from hospital staff and others in Varginha, getting nothing but denials. I see this case can't be considered a strong case at all, since there are no touchable evidences of the alleged capture. Weak testimonies from teenagers, secret testimonies allegedly given by military people (but not shown to the public) and a lot of rumors is all we have to the present.

(Daniel Machado de Avila is a former military man from the Brazilian Air Force and also a renowned UFO investigator from Porto Alegre, RS, and Brazil. He has already been in England to investigate the crop circles and also in Switzerland to check the controversial Edward Meier's Case out.)

What is hidden behind Varginha? - by Eugenio dos Santos, reader:

Although everyone is dazzled and thinking the Varginha Case is wonderful, I confess I particularly believe that a lot of information and evidences is lacking to support the participation of the [Brazilian] Army in the ETs' capture. After all, where are those military guys who gave so important testimonies to the ufologists? Why don't they come to the public once and for all? What are the UFO researchers hiding from the public? I think "Revista UFO" [Brazilian UFO magazine] should be more careful at the time it affirms certain things that cannot be proved.

(Eugenio dos Santos is a reader from Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Published in the Brazilian "Revista UFO", #47 Issue, November 1996, page 7, Section "Letters".)

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