On January 20, 1996, residents of the small southeastern Brazilian city of Varginha witnessed a strange craft flying low over the urban area. But even more shocking—according to witnesses, they saw a bizarre creature with brown skin, large eyes, and a height of about 1.2 meters appearing on the streets. This incident quickly escalated into the most sensational UFO event in Brazilian history.

📍 Location	📅 Date	🔍 Category
Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil	1996-01-20	Alien Encounter / Military Cover-up

That afternoon, three sisters—Liliane, Valquiria, and Kátia Andrade—were on their way home when they spotted a strange creature crouching by a wall. They described it as having smooth brown skin, large red eyes, three protrusions on its head, thin lower limbs, and a strong smell of ammonia. Terrified, they ran home and called the police.

Later that same day, witnesses reported seeing military vehicles and ambulances quickly arriving at the scene. Local firefighters were dispatched that evening, reportedly searching near a sewer entrance. Rumors circulated that the firefighters had actually captured a “creature,” which was then taken to a local humanitarian hospital.

The next day, a firefighter named Marco Eli Chereze collapsed and was hospitalized for “unknown reasons.” He remained in a confused state, claiming “something is following me.” Two months later, Marco Chereze suddenly died. The hospital report cited “septic shock” as the cause, but the UFO research community has long suspected the truth is not that simple.

After in-depth investigations by the American UFO research organization MUFON and Brazilian media, it was discovered that the military had deployed a large number of personnel to cordon off parts of the area that day, and several military trucks transported “something” out of Varginha. The Brazilian Air Force was also found to have conducted unusual flight activities in the vicinity.

In 2019, under pressure, the Brazilian government released some related documents, but key content remained redacted. Many witnesses still insist on their accounts years later—what they saw was definitely not an ordinary animal or human.

📚 Sources

• MUFON Journal, “The Varginha Case” (1997)
• Official Brazilian Air Force documents declassified in 2019
• Bueno, A.J. “Varginha: The Real Story” (2008), UFO Magazine Brazil