Varginah

In April 1997, an unidentified flying object was picked up on US radar over Brazil (there were no Brazilian satellites), contact was however made with the Brazilians and the information was relayed. In the city of Varginha, in the Central Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, several persons witnessed a ufo crash and saw a cigar shaped craft expelling large amounts of smoke heading for the ground. In other parts of the town there were many anomalous lights reported. On the same day, three girls saw a creature of the following description: Brown, soft skin (‘like a heart’), large, red, bulging eyes and visible veins. 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. Its hairless body was not more than five feet tall and dark brown, as though it had oil on its skin. It had two large, red, pupil-less eyes, a small mouth and nose and a big, brown head with three rather rounded horns. 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. Press and TV journalists have joined ufologists in a six-month-long hunt for information about the fate of the two aliens, giving full scope for conspiracy theorists and resulting in regular revisions of the number of witnesses and their stories, including the number of aliens. The latest version claims that five ETs were flushed out of hiding in the Jardim Andere, a park on the north side of Varginha.

This event is seen by many as being as important as Roswell. It has many similarities: the recovered body was medically examined, there were sophisticated witnesses such as doctors and high ranking members of the Brazilian Army, there was a crash from which creatures were recovered, the US government was involved and so was the military. There were also some differences which distinguish this event from Roswell: the press covered Roswell, there were lots of documents and a brief spate of articles in newspapers and possibly most importantly, there was a testimony from the military about Roswell.

John Carpenter, director of MUFON Southwest and a founding member of ISCNI told FT that he was impressed by what he has learned so far. “There are at least 35 first-hand witnesses to the presence of the strange beings. This includes audiotaped interviews with several military participants. There is the possibility of a UFO crash, but there is little doubt about the existence of five or six strange beings resembling a cross between the Little Greys and the Chupacabras. Some were shot or died, others captured alive,” he said.