The Varginha incident
On the morning of 20 January 1996, three young women — Liliane and Valquíria Silva and Kátia Andrade Xavier — reported an encounter with an "oily-skinned brown creature" in an open lot on Rua Suécia in the town of Varginha, Minas Gerais. Within hours, the Brazilian Army's 4th Infantry Battalion from Três Corações was deployed alongside Varginha Fire Brigade vehicles. Days earlier, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) had reportedly briefed the Brazilian Air Force on an unidentified track descending over Minas Gerais.
What the official record says
The Brazilian Armed Forces have never released a single consolidated case file on the Varginha events comparable to Operação Prato. What exists in the public record is fragmentary:
(1) Bombeiros (Fire Brigade) call logs from Varginha confirm a deployment to Rua Suécia on the morning of 20 January. The official log entry refers to "the capture of an animal". (2) Army records from the 4 BIL confirm the deployment but classify the response as a "routine training exercise". (3) The death of Sergeant Marco Eli Cherese — one of the soldiers involved in the alleged transport of the entity — on 15 April 1996 from unexplained acute infection is documented in his medical record at Hospital Bom Pastor in Pouso Alegre, but the Army's internal inquiry concluded "no causal link". (4) The mayor of Varginha at the time, Jorge Carlos Pellegrini, has publicly stated he was briefed on the incident by municipal authorities.
Subsequent civilian investigations by the Comissão Brasileira de Ufólogos Profissionais (CBUP) compiled witness depositions, photographs of vehicles consistent with the alleged transport, and the medical record of Sgt. Cherese. These materials are not government documents but are routinely cited in Brazilian congressional testimony on the case.
Timeline
Local farmer Eurico de Freitas reports a "submarine-shaped craft" descending over his ranch outside Varginha. A second sighting is logged in nearby Três Corações.
Bombeiros deploy to Jardim Andere; recover an unknown entity reportedly transferred to a military vehicle. Army present.
Liliane Silva (16), Valquíria Silva (14), and Kátia Andrade Xavier (22) encounter a second entity on Rua Suécia. They flee.
The Silva mother visits the lot with her daughters to confirm the encounter; a strong ammonia-like smell remains.
Multiple Army convoys reportedly travel between Varginha and the Universidade de Campinas (UNICAMP).
Sgt. Marco Eli Cherese, 23, dies at Hospital Bom Pastor from septicaemia of unknown origin. Army inquiry: no link to events.
Witnesses give sworn depositions to civilian investigators. The case becomes the most-reported UFO event in Brazilian press.
Mayor Pellegrini, in office at the time, publicly confirms he was briefed by municipal authorities. The city later builds a UFO-shaped water tower as civic identity.
Câmara dos Deputados commission on UAP cites Varginha as one of three cases warranting federal review.
Linked evidence in this archive
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Fire Brigade dispatch log — 20 January 1996
Municipal Fire Brigade call log recording a deployment to "capture an animal" on Rua Suécia; cited in subsequent civil-court testimony.
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4° Batalhão de Infantaria Leve deployment record
Army roster confirming personnel deployment from Três Corações to Varginha on 20 January 1996, classified as a training exercise.
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Sgt. Marco Eli Cherese — clinical record, April 1996
Medical record of soldier death from acute infection three months after the incident. Family confirms record under Lei nº 12.527/2011.
Related Brazilian UAP files
Why this case still matters
Varginha is unusual for South American UAP cases in three respects. First, it involves two distinct military deployments — Bombeiros and the 4th Infantry Battalion — both with extant operational logs. Second, the death of Sgt. Cherese provides a specific, named, datable human consequence that has been subject to coronial and family review. Third, the case has been cited in Brazilian congressional commissions on UAP transparency, giving it formal political standing.
No official Brazilian government body has issued a single consolidated finding. The available record is reproduced here as released, not as interpretation.
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