In January 1996, the city of Varginha, Brazil, became the center of a controversial UFO incident involving alleged sightings of strange creatures and significant military activity. The event gained widespread attention after three young women reported encountering a bizarre, bipedal creature with large red eyes.1 The incident quickly escalated into claims of a UFO crash and the capture of extraterrestrial beings by Brazilian military forces, despite official denials.2
The Creature Sighting
On January 20, 1996, at approximately 3:30 PM, sisters Liliane and Valquíria Silva, along with their friend Kátia Xavier, encountered a creature in an empty lot in Jardim Andere. They described it as a squat, brown humanoid with an oversized head, three cranial protuberances, large red eyes, and oily skin, emitting a pungent ammonia-like smell.3 The creature appeared wobbly, leading the girls to believe it was injured or sick. Terrified, they fled to the Silva home, where their mother later detected the same odor while inspecting the scene.1
Alleged Military Involvement and Aftermath
Rumors quickly spread, with some residents claiming to have seen UFOs in the days leading up to the creature sighting, and an ultralight pilot, Carlos de Sousa, alleging he saw a submarine-shaped craft crash.4 Following the creature sighting, there were numerous reports of increased military and police presence in the area. Stories circulated that one of the creatures was captured by Military Police Officer Marco Eli Chereze, who later died unexpectedly from an unknown illness, which some ufologists linked to alien toxins.5 While the Brazilian Army concluded that the creature sighting was a misidentification of a local resident and that military movements were routine, the Varginha incident continues to be a subject of intense debate and has inspired documentaries and local tourism, with many believing a cover-up occurred.6