1996 UFO Case – Varginha, The Roswell of Brazil
Photo taken by David E. West – Near Roswell, New Mexico. Credits: davidewestphotography
The three girls – An encounter with the creature
VARGINHA, Brazil – On January, 17, 1996, NORAD (North American Air Defense Command) contacts their Brazilian alike CINDACTA (Centro Integrado de Defesa Aérea e Controle de Tráfego Aéreo or Integrated Center on Air Defense and Air Traffic Control) and warned them about “An Unidentified Flying Object” that drifted across international airspace in South America and was shot down by the United States Air Force, very close to Brazilian airspace; the UFO lost altitude heading down to a medium-sized city in southeastern Brazil.
Four days later, two sisters, ages (14) Valkíria and (16) Liliane, and a friend, (21) Kátia were walking through a large area with an overgrown grass – an empty lot, when they spotted a tiny, frightened alien with big red eyes crouched against a wall at 3:30pm, Jardim Andere (2 kilometers from the town center). Jardim Andere is a district or suburban neighborhood where some houses were under construction. The three girls had a close encounter with a being described as about 4 feet tall, with dark brown oily skin, a large head, huge red eyes, V-shaped feet and three rounded bulges on its head. The creature was just eight feet away and they ran down in a sloping street for about 800 meters towards Santana neighborhood, screaming back to their mother. The girls said it looked frightened, sad, shrunken, appearing to be suffering from the heat. “When Liliane screamed, I saw and felt fear,” said Valquíria, who was 14 at the time. I looked into its eyes and saw that it was scared. Just as I was afraid, so was the creature. I felt like it was afraid of us too. It was an exchange of fears. it was afraid of us, just as we were afraid of it. A being we were unfamiliar with and it had a strong, unpleasant smell and it was squatting, with the long arms between its legs.
The three girls – Valkíria Fátima Silva (from left), Liliane Silva and Kátia Andrade Xavier – They saw a very strange creature, on January 20, 1996, at 3:30pm, Jardim Andere neighbourhood, Varginha city (Minas Gerais State – Brazil). Image: Pacaccini Courtesy, 1996.
They compared the smell like ammonia and sulphur. Valquíria, her sister Liliane and her friend Kátia say what they saw was neither human nor animal. “Today I believe it was a being from another planet,” says Liliana.
A few minutes later, the mother of Valkíria and Lilliane, Luiza Helena Silva, went to the spot to look for what had frightened her daughters and she found nothing except a peculiar smell described as ammonia and a V shape footprint on the ground. The same smell was later reported independently by personnel at the General Hospital where the alien was brought on the evening of January 2Oth.
Later afternoon, people were watching a number of army trucks on patrol, Escola de Sargentos, along with officers from the military police service (called P-2).
All the Fire Department of Varginha was required to capture a strange animal in the area. This capture was much more discreet than 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.
Sources say the local fire department, which is under military police control, captured one of these creatures in the morning of January 20th. Later in the afternoon, an officer captured a second creature near where the three girls saw the first one.
Through gossip and other events, such as the gathering of military troops around a base and a strange commotion at Hospital Regional, the opinion was quickly formed in Varginha that several aliens had been taken into custody by the Brazilian military.
Kátia Andrade Xavier (from left), Valquíria Fátima Silva and Liliane Silva return to the scene where they claimed to see a “sad, shrunken” creature in Brazil in 1996. Image: The shooting for Moment of Contact Documentary, 2022.
On January 1996, US NORAD (North American Air Defense Command) detected several spacecraft entering Planet Earth from the American continent. The US Air Force managed to intercept and hit one of these spacecraft, which was damaged and lost altitude, heading down towards Brazil; mospecifically, to Minas Gerais State, where it touched the ground near the vicinity of Varginha city. Brazilian police and military capture at least two aliens, one of whom scratched and infected an officer, eventually killing him before dying along with his fellow aliens. The US Air Force had an agreement with Brazilian military authorities in which they could have possession of the alien bodies and took them to an undisclosed location. A full-scale cover-up by the Brazilian military, enforced with death threats, has lasted 27 years.
Drawing of UFO – US NORAD detected several spacecraft entering Planet Earth from the American continent. The US Air Force managed to intercept and hit one of these spacecraft. More than two aliens from a wayward spaceship had been captured by troops from the Brazilian army. Pacaccini Courtesy.
Visual Simulation – Image: Fernanda Pires
In the following year, more eyewitnesses approached the media with reports of “cigar-shaped” spacecrafts being spotted slowly up in the skies of south Minas Gerais State, and were covered mainly by TV reports.
Vitório Pacaccini – The Main Investigator of Varginha’s case
Mr. Pacaccini said he videotaped interviews with at least seven military officers about the encounter, which he keeps in secure locations. After accusing the military of a cover-up, he said the enemy drove a car on the freeway on four separate occasions. The fourth time, two shots were fired at his car. He said he had received hundreds of death threats over the years and moved to different locations to flee since 2004.
Mr. Pacaccini’s most tantalizing proofs are videotaped statements by two young men in civilian clothes who claim to be military detail that disposed of the alien visitors. Mr. Pacaccini won’t reveal the men’s names. The hospital and militaries tried to say a different story, saying that it was an exhumed corpse – a human body, officials insist.
“Sure, tell us another story,” says Vitório Pacaccini. Based upon interviews with eyewitnesses, Mr. Pacaccini put the puzzle together of these UFO events: A small alien craft on an unknown mission over Varginha crashed near the city, sending its crew otherworldly. “I will say what I can.” Since the first sighting, Mr. Pacaccini has abandoned his job as a Foreign Trade Consultant at that time to provide one-stop shopping for visiting journalists.
Vitório Pacaccini and Travis Walton – Pacaccini, The Main Investigator of Varginha’s case, 1996. Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
“Vitório Pacaccini claimed to have seen the creatures. He said death threats forced him to move to different countries for surviva“The creature was thin, weak, fragile and seemed that it was about to die. It made a little noise like a bee. The creature had dark brown skin with oil or grease on the body. It had a large head with red eyes and no pupils or iris. The face was like a reptile, like a frog, with strange red eyes, three times larger than ours and three protuberances on the crown, said Vitório Pacaccini, a civilian UFO investigator, who had explained he watched a 35-second film fragment of the creature by a senior officer in 2012.”
Visual Simulation of the creature. Image: Vitório Pacaccini and Roberto Munhoz Projeto 93.
According to the hospital staff, an entire wing of the hospital was closed, and the hospital itself was literally packed with military personnel in full ammunition. Doctors tried to save the creature, but it died. Its death was recorded on January 22, 1996. More than a dozen specialists, including genetics, took part in the subsequent autopsy. They found out that the alien had a black thin and long tongue, the absence of genitals, and a navel. After the autopsy, the dead alien was placed in a wooden coffin, the lid of which was secured with screws.
Stanton Terry Friedman and Vitório Pacaccini, 1996. Friedman a Canada-based UFO expert, says Varginha has the makings of a “cosmic Watergate.” Stanton Terry Friedman (July 29, 1934 – May 13, 2019) was an American nuclear physicist and professional ufologist who resided in New Brunswick, Canada. He was the original civilian investigator of the Roswell UFO Incident. Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Stanton Terry Friedman nuclear physicist and professional ufologist and the original civilian investigator of the Roswell UFO incident in Moment of Contact, 2022 – Photo taken by David E. West – Credits: davidewestphotography
Marco Eli Chereze – The soldier’s death
The town of Varginha was cordoned off by military and emergency response teams and two creatures were captured. Local military policeman Marco Chereze died under mysterious circumstances after allegedly handling one of the creatures that scratched his arm.
The soldier passed through two hospitals including Regional Hospital on February 10th and, after being hospitalized for a few days at the Intensive Care Center (ICU) 7:00am at Hospital Bom Pastor, he could not resist and died of a generalized infectious process (sepsis), but it is unknown what would have caused this situation.
Cardiologist Cesário Lincoln Furtado. According to him, when he was hospitalized in a serious condition, all possible tests were carried out, but the team did not arrive at any diagnosis. “Me and another doctor gave him the two best antibiotics they had at the time, and he didn’t get any better. It was like giving him water with sugar”, says Furtado.
At first, the Legal Medical Institute (IML) examination did not indicate the cause of his death. With the test results, Chereze’s final report says that he died as a result of pneumonia, with a generalized infection and even detected relatively benign bacteria, according to Furtado, which are common. Another test revealed an immunodeficiency in the patient. “The bacteria detected in the exam was sensitive to the antibiotics, but he didn’t react, that’s the great detail. The patient’s immune system was gone, but it was never known what caused it, as no virus or other cause was detected in scans at the time, says Furtado.”
Now many years after, 35 of them dedicated to medicine, “Furtado says he’s seen this before, but it’s a very rare situation. Maybe you’ve seen it once or twice in your life,” he says. For him, it is an unknown question that perhaps science will one day be able to answer.”
Regional Hospital Image: Fernanda Pires
Luiz Cesario da Silveira Leite, a military spokesman, told reporters that accusations of a coverup are “absurd” and “ridiculous.” He says the troop convoy that day was delivering Army vehicles to a garage for maintenance. Hospital administration have told reporters that the body in question was the corpse of a university student who had been arrested for robbery and committed suicide in his cell. And again, his family had demanded an autopsy.
Marta Tavares shows the medical exam and death report results of Marco Eli Chereze. Image: Fernanda Pires
Marta Tavares shows the medical exam and death report results of Marco Eli Chereze. Image: Fernanda Pires
In an interview, Marta Tavares said that her brother died by strange circumstances. Chereze asked his sister to find out what he had because he wasn’t feeling anything, he didn’t understand the reason why he was at the hospital, then at 11:45am suddenly, he died. So, the doctor Luiz Alberto Severo ordered to be buried quickly. His family was denied an independent autopsy ‘which is odd’. They also weren’t allowed to talk to the media. Marta said on camera that the medical exam was indicating the presence of granular toxin, showing 8% of fine-grained neutrophils. There was an ‘unidentifiable’ substance. And so, he dies from a general infection but it was not a justifiable cause. He was a healthy soldier without any health issues.
The doctor who treated him said Chereze spoke openly about what happened because he feared he was dying and fighting to survive.
Marta Tavares showing a picture of her brother Marco Eli Chereze and his death report results. Photo taken by David E. West – Credits: davidewestphotography
Fernanda Pires with Marta Tavares, Marco Eli Chereze’s sister. Image: The shooting for Moment of Contact Documentary
Authorities trying to deny
On March 11, 1997, the inquiry among the explanations for the fact, is that the “creatures of Varginha” would be, in fact, a young man in his 30s with mental ills and dumb, known as “Mudinho”, who lived near to the place where the creature was seen and sometimes squatted in the streets of Jardim Andere. Mudinho who used to pick up cigarette butts and other objects from the ground.
The military officers presented this explanation: “Mudinho” (The meaning in Portuguese: Little Mute -dumb) was the creature who had an encounter with the three girls, also Mrs. Terezinha Clepf, Mr. Pacaccini and other military collaborators.
A mindless explanation didn’t convince no one, nor relation to it, even because all the facts had scientific points already; however the three girls had met “Mudinho” already on the streets nearby on other occasions.
The officers tried to match the description: “It is more likely the hypothesis that this citizen, being probably dirty as a result of the heavy rains, seen crouching next to a wall, was mistaken by three girls for a “creature from space“, records the commandant’s testimony.
A mindless explanation didn’t convince no one, nor relation to it, even because the facts had scientific points already. The authorities came with a statement saying that “mudinho” was the creature.
The witnesses claimed, without inconsistencies or discrepancies, to have seen an unidentified creature and, by all indications, their reports are sincere and true.
However, defenders of the materiality of the Varginha case insistently argue that if everything were just rumours or a theatrical spectacle, Police Authorities, Fire Department, Army, Government, Universities and Hospitals would not be involved, giving so much importance or avoiding any statement about it.
Authorities trying to deny saying the creature was Mudinho. Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
The sighting at the farm – Mrs. Oralina and Mr. Eurico
On January 18, 1996, around 1:15am, Mrs. Oralina Augusta de Freitas wakes up startled by some noises, she goes out at the window of the headquarters of the farm owned by Mr. Castilho, located 10 km from Varginha, on the side of the road that connects the city to Fernão Dias highway. The cattle burst, running wild.
She then observes an elongated artifact that released a mist from the back part of it that appeared to be “torn”, at the front of the fuselage.
Mrs. Oralina then screams for her husband, Eurico Rodrigues de Freitas, who was in the living room. Eurico also sees the object, which was hovering over the pasture at a maximum of 5 meters from the ground and 25 meters away from the window where the couple were observing it. As they looked up in the sky the saw a silent UFO without lights and the animals running from one side to the other. They observed the “Flying Object” for about 40 minutes or so.
“At the time she called me, I was in the living room watching television. The object was very low and was getting lower and lower. It was long, the size of a mini-bus that was trembling like a curtain and emitting smoke, some metallic destroyed parts swaying out at its back. It covered the whole place with smoke, a light smoke”, says Eurico. The couple claims that the object went towards Fernão Dias Highway and then disappeared from view. That night, neither of them slept.
More residents reported seeing a grey, submarine-shaped object the size of a mini-bus flying overhead in the Jardim Andere, Vila Pinto (close to the Regional Hospital), Imaculada, Santana neighborhood and also some rural area in Três Corações city.
On January 18, 1996, at 1:15am, a couple: Mr. Eurico and Mrs. Oralina, who used to live in a small rural property, 10 kms away from Varginha, saw for about 40 minutes a silver submarine shape spacecraft, the size of a minibus, flying 25 meters away from their home and 5 meters above the ground. The soundless object was unleashing white smoke and damaged on its backside. Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Exact place where Mr. Eurico and Mrs. Oralina saw the “Flying Object” for about 40 minutes or so. Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Visual Simulation of a UFO submarine shape spacecraft, the size of a minibus, flying 25 meters away from Mrs. Oralina and Mr. Eurico home and 5 meters above the ground. Image: UFO – Courtesy Pacaccini
A call to the fire department and ESA vehicle
In the morning of the 20th of January, the telephone went off at the headquarters of the Varginha Fire Department. A strange “animal” would be prowling the forest that divides Jardim Andere and Santana neighborhoods, and the residents were worried. It was reported by a civilian and a military reserve for the ufologists in the case. Firefighters were seen prowling down into the woods.
Soon after, a truck from the Escola de Sargento das Armas (ESA) parked at the site. The Army Sergeants School (ESA) is the Institution of Higher Education, also well known as The Brazilian Army Combatant Academy (ESA) has an extensive infantry battalion with over 5,000 military personnel.
The headquarters of the military school is in the neighboring town of Três Corações (Three Hearts city).
Soldiers entered the bushes as if they were on a special mission, according to the two witnesses, who heard what sounded like four rifle shots. Soon after, the military came out of the woods – two of them carrying big bags.
A series of strange events throughout town, most of it involving military police, threats and trucks, attracted even more attention. According to the reports obtained by Pacaccini was that one of the bags had something immobile and another was moving inside. Both were placed in the ESA truck, which followed to an unknown destination. Cars from both institutions would have been seen in the same place by countless witnesses.
The creature captured and death
January 20th, a strong storm started to roll through in the afternoon with heavy thunderstorms, lightning accompanied by hailstorm and an outstanding sunset.
In the midst of this rain, two police officers were in plain clothes, the Military Police Intelligence duo would be on a mission around Jardim Andere. They were to observe any strange movement that unfolded in the place.
Around 8:00pm, the police car was heading down Rua Benevenuto Braz Vieira – (the same street where the girls would have seen the creature) – when suddenly, the partner braked sharply. Something strange would have passed in front of the vehicle. Marco Eli Chereze went out to try and capture whatever it was.
He would have caught the creature without wearing gloves or any kind of safety equipment, pursuant to this moment the creature scratched his arm.
The creature was placed in the back seat of the vehicle and taken to a health center in the city, which did not want to take it. Then the police went to the Regional Hospital of Varginha. Supposedly, one room of the institution remained isolated as soon as the creature arrived.
During the days that followed the 20th of January, residents and employees say they saw a big movement of the Army, Firefighters and vehicles going to the hospitals in the city, Regional and Humanitas. The creature would have been transferred from one to the other, where a room would also have been isolated for about two days, until they removed it from the place.
The representatives of the institutions always denied any involvement with the case and, at the time, presented strange arguments for the movement of the Army and Firefighters in the place – which ranged from the exhumation of a body that needed “several coroners and a procession of officers” to the birth of a dwarf woman.
Visual Simulation of Marco Eli Chereze and Eric Lopez after Chereze allegedly handling one of the creatures that scratched his arm. Image: Rogério Munhoz
Ufologists believe that at least two to three creatures were captured that day, but they ponder the possibility of more beings, since the movement of the Army would have been noticed even before the 20th, as reported by witnesses who saw the institution’s convoys between Varginha and Três Corações, in addition to the UFO crash.
From Varginha, the beings would have been taken to the University of Campinas (Unicamp), where they would also have been isolated in a sector of the campus. The university never confirmed the story.
Visual Simulation: Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Another Creature spotted at the Varginha’ Zoo – Death of four healthy animals
Another alien of the same species was reportedly seen at the local zoo by its janitor and Terezinha Gallo Clepf; nearly four weeks after the sightings of the three girls and the following months, four animals mysteriously died.
Mrs . Clepf, sighted a strange creature for about five minutes in the Forest Botanical Zoo of Varginha. She described a being with oil skin, dark and brilliant brown color, red eyes and there was just a cut in the place of the lips; the creature was about twenty three feet away, staring at her.
Terezinha Gallo Clepf. Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Terezinha Gallo Clepf. Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Some days later of that contact four dead animals were found at the zoo, without explanations for such deaths. The animals were healthy, a tapir, an ocelot and two deer. The veterinarian, Dr. Marcos Mina, removed the animals viscera, taking them to a laboratory and found an unidentified toxic substance.
It’s highly unlikely that some creatures were looking for the other ones.
Men in Black – MIB
Visual Simulation Men in Black (MIB) – Image: Paulinho Leite – Fique Ligado
On January 13, 1996, before the main events, something happened towards Belo Horizonte. Carlos de Souza, pilot of an ultralight aviation, sees an elongated and wingless artifact less than 15km from the cloverleaf that connects the Fernão Dias Highway to the road that gives access to Varginha. The object went down slowly until it disappeared behind the hill, at Fazenda Maiolini, Três Corações territory. Furthermore, three dressed men approached the sisters’ and their mother at home trying to cover up what they witnessed on January 20th. Yet in an attempt to offer money aim to disqualify what the girls saw in Varginha 1996.
“They wanted us to deny everything, they would pay us“, said Liliane. No amount was quoted, but according to them, “with that money, we would be able to leave Brazil”. “We were scared“, continued Liliane. “But we didn’t even consider accepting the proposal“.
Still, according to them, after the incident, the men pressured them with phone calls and even followed Liliane, Valquíria and their mother Luiza. To prevent something worse from happening, they decided to talk on television about what was happening, and the chase ended. White and tall men with an all-black outfit, black glasses with a weird accent. They have no idea who these people were.
Thus, the civilian UFO investigator Pacaccini led Luiza, Liliane and Valquíria to a press conference so they could explain the “bribery attempt”.
Vitório Pacaccini took Luiza, Liliane and Valquíria to a press conference so they could explain the: “bribery attempt.” Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Dr.John Mack – Harvard University
Doctor John Mack PhD, Psychologist, professor and abduction researcher at Harvard University USA, went to Varginha with Mr. Pacaccini. He led a recorded interview with the three girls and come to a conclusion that the information provided by them, was true. He would stake his career and his license on those three girls being truthful.
However, he say that “I would tear up my Harvard diploma if everything I heard and analyzed was not true.”
Dr.John Mack and Vitório Pacaccini – Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Military Police Inquiry
A Military Police initiated an inquiry in 1997. Vitório Pacaccini, was summoned to testify. He was inside The Brazilian Army Combatant Academy (ESA) and for four hours he remained. They wanted to know who were the Army Forces informants. He never gave them any information.
The Brazilian Army Combatant Academy (ESA) is a Higher Education Establishment of the Brazilian Army, responsible for training the Combatant NCO’s of the Brazilian Army: Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps. ESA is located in Três Corações-MG, 25 km from Varginha.
The Cover Investigation File (400 pages); Military Police Inquiry, 1996. Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Varginha UFO Museum
The largest UFO Museum in all South America was launched in October 2022, Varginha, Brazil. It call “Memorial do ET or ET Memorial”. Mrs. Pacaccini says: “For me, it is an honour to know that such a big project was built to the results of our research. It’s a great accomplishment”.
Varginha UFO Museum – Memorial do ET. Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Varginha UFO Museum – Memorial do ET. Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Varginha UFO Museum – Memorial do ET. Image: Courtesy Pacaccini
Documentary: “Moment of Contact” – Based on Varginha’s Incident, The Roswell of Brazil
The most awaited documentary on the 1996 Brazil UFO incident has finally been published. Moment of Contact is an exploration of extraterrestrial encounters, focusing on the events in Varginha, which this article describes what happened in 1996.
James Fox on his new film ‘Moment of Contact’, UFOs and aliens became the world’s number one documentary.
The world premiere of Moment of Contact was in LA Live theatre. Fox’s documentary features interviews with key eyewitnesses, experts, and officials, including nuclear physicist and professional ufologist Stanton Friedman, Brazilian Air Force General Jose Carlos Pereira, Brazilian ufologist Ademar Jose Gevaerd, also the former Deputy Undersecretary for Defense Intelligence Christopher Mellon. With narration by Peter Coyote (who also narrated The Phenomenon.
“The Research in Varginha still has nuances and details that could not yet be revealed, for strategic and security reasons. I know about some videos and photos of the creatures that maintain under civilian’s hands. I hope I will be able to bring them all to the public at some point in the future.
To me, one thing is very clear and I know these extraterrestrial creatures carry in their bodies an unknown fungus, bacteria or virus capable of killing us. The military acted quickly, captured and removed them from Varginha. This is definitely a matter of National Security. My special thanks to my great friend, work partner, UFO Researcher and MUFON Certified Field Investigator Fernanda Pires – Canada – Pacaccini.”
Image: Vitório Pacaccini – I am Vitório Pacaccini…signing off.
“Based on direct observations, in the presence of evidences, and on the nature of the facts presented, we can ascertain the veracity of the stories reported. Everyone needs to know the truth and as ufologists, it is our role to put our questions and our knowledge to use and apply them our investigation and research. Ufology has been present on Earth since the beginning of human’s creation and we are still learning about lives from another planet, also our own. Wanting to understand what’s out there is a timeless human drive. Fernanda Pires.” In addition, I would like to thank my dear friend, colleague, the Main Investigator of Varginha’s Case Pacaccini whom gave me all the veracious information of what happened in 1996, Varginha, Brazil. A huge thank you.
Image: Fernanda Pires
The fact is that the Varginha Case remains a complex puzzle, which continues to give people something to talk about. Since then, extensive investigations have been made into the case.
“This article is based on real facts and investigations; also written under Pacaccini’s agreement”
Source: Fernanda Pires MUFON Assistant National Director Canada & Brazil, MUFON Experiencer Resource Team ERT, Certified Field Investigator, “Moment of Contact” Co-Producer, The Main Translator of the Documentary and responsible for the Transcriptions, CIFE Founder Scientific Channel of UFOs Phenomena & Space Research – Vitório Pacaccini The Main Investigator of Varginha’s Incident ©
Contact Us Directly by email: fernandapiresmufon@gmail.com – dukeflanger80@gmail.com
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