Operation Prato--The Why Files

[Magical Realist]

Most witnessed and impactful UFO flap in history. Fleets of UFOs terrorizing a Brazilian island from 1977-1978, paralyzing beams of light, thorough military documentation/photos, and...yes...up to 400 exsanguinated/punctured human victims. The more you know...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xluya-2ov40

“The universe is a dark forest. Every civilization is an armed hunter stalking through the trees like a ghost, gently pushing aside branches that block the path and trying to tread without sound. Even breathing is done with care. The hunter has to be careful, because everywhere in the forest are stealthy hunters like him. If he finds other life—another hunter, an angel or a demon, a delicate infant or a tottering old man, a fairy or a demigod—there’s only one thing he can do: open fire and eliminate them. In this forest, hell is other people. An eternal threat that any life that exposes its own existence will be swiftly wiped out. This is the picture of cosmic civilization. It’s the explanation for the Fermi Paradox.”
― Liu Cixin, The Dark Forest

[C C]

Operação Prato (excerpts): The operation was commanded by Captain Uyrangê Bolivar Soares Nogueira de Hollanda Lima. During late 1977, several pictures of lights were recorded but the military remained skeptical. After approximately four months, the operation was closed after finding no unusual phenomena. The official documents can be obtained from the Brazilian National Archives (Arquivo Nacional).

In 1997, two decades after the operation, Captain Uyrangê gave an interview to Ufologists Ademar José Gevaerd and Marco Antônio Petit where he recounted his experiences living alongside his men. Three months after the interview, he was found dead in his home "after he seemingly hung himself using the belt of his bathrobe", attracting the interest of conspiracy theorists.
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25/08/2005 (excerpt): The mission was secret and officially lasted only four months. The cancellation, without any explanation, frustrated then-Captain Uyrangê Bolívar Soares de Hollanda Lima and his team, who were, in their opinion, making remarkable progress.

According to Hollanda, the soldiers saw not only lights, but gigantic spaceships, which were allegedly filmed and photographed by the team. In October 1997, Hollanda, then a retired colonel, committed suicide in Rio de Janeiro, hanging himself with the cord of his robe. His strange death is yet another mysterious ingredient in this fantastic story.
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Full text of "Ademar Jose Gevaerd's interview of Colonel Uyrangê Bolivar Soares Nogueira De Hollanda Lima in 1997"
https://archive.org/details/ademar-jose-...ma-in-1997

EXCERPTS: [...] And how did the idea of the Operation come about? Was it your idea, or the Commander's? Did it come from the government?

Colonel Camilo Ferraz de Barros. He asked me: "Do you believe in flying saucers?"

I said: "Yes."

He said: "Now you're in charge of this case."

Then he gave me the briefcase with the beginning of the Operation, so that I could take care of the matter and be in charge of the case.

[...] When you started your vigils, did you have immediate verification by filming, or something like that?

No, I'm going to tell you that, honestly, I came in as the Devil's Advocate. I went in to demystify it all and to say that this thing did not exist. Let's say it was like a collective hallucination. That something was really being seen, but it was nothing extra-terrestrial.

What did you imagine it was?

I don't know. Birds. The plumage of an owl reflecting the moonlight. Something of that nature.

But never extra-terrestrial?

I couldn’t even imagine what it was, but I didn't believe that I could see it either. So, I went to see if it really was what they said.

[...] I would come back at the weekend and my answer to the Commander was no. He asked: "Did you see something?"

No. I saw lights. Blinking Lights that passed. But nothing, never, it was really very strange. I couldn't say what it was. I didn't see it. I saw lights. But I didn't know what they were.

And that was during the night?

During the night, yes!

[...] Did you have your own form, a collection methodology?

We always put the person's name, the location, the time, how it went, a profile description of each event. If in the same location where it happened there was three cases that night then we would hear from the three individuals.

What kind of description did they give? What was the most common?

There was some strange ones, that we would later verify that they really had happened. Dematerialization of entire walls and roofs.

[...] I was always questioned by the agents, who had more faith that this was happening than me because when I arrived things were already in progress. I told you that I was in Brasilia. It's when I returned that they gave me this mission.

They asked: "But Captain, don't you believe it?"

I said: "No, I don't."

For me it is something that I still need to know what it is. I couldn’t tell you that it's a flying saucer because I’ve never seen a saucer, I’ve seen sights. I didn't see a disc. So for me this is not a flying saucer. It's no proof that I am satisfied with. I'm seeing strange things, but I can't say what it is.

[...] But could you see?

I saw a light, not shapes.

Did you photograph those objects?

Yes, and we wasted two months. Nothing came out of the pictures. We filled the frame with the bright light, we photographed and nothing came out of the pictures. We didn't see anything, there was nothing in the negatives.

[...] I informed my Commander that I was having technical difficulties with photography. [...] We started using special filters such as infrared and ultraviolet. ... We asked the Capital and they sent the films and equipment to us.

And the result was?

Much better.

Big objects?

We started to see something, lights and other shapes that we didn't even imagine could be printed on the emulsion with these photos.

These objects that were seen, what [...] did you see?

[...] when we were talking about it, one of them said: "Look up here. Look up."

So we did. Then the Brazilian SNI hero shuddered with fear. I looked up and there was a huge thing on top of us. A black, dark disk. Standing over us. No more than 500 feet high (150 meters). It was hovering over where we were.

No lights and no noise?

No. There was a light in the middle which was yellow to amber. But it made a noise that sounded like air conditioning and every now and then it made a bicycle ratchet noise. It made a noise like you were pedalling backwards. That thing was just standing there with a light in the middle. It was a very big thing.

I believe it was about 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter. Standing right over us. We were looking at it and then it started to emit a very strong yellow light. That illuminated the floor. Very strong. It repeated this short interval about five times.

What was the reaction of the SNI guys?

No. From everyone, it wasn't just the SNI guys. Look, it was so unusual. I had never seen that. I was almost two months into this story and it had never appeared to us like that.

We didn't think to open the car and set up the equipment. There was also no time. The machines were dismantled and stored in the car so we just watched and we were quite scared.

While that thing was illuminating everything with that bright yellow light. It went out and lit up again, about five times.

Pulsating?

Yes. There was an interval of about two seconds when it went out. Then after two or three seconds, it started again.

[...] Was there participation from other teams, from other government agencies?

No. What I know is that there was a leak from that operation, that incident, from that sighting incident [...] a team from the newspaper at the time ... The newspaper team went where we went. They took advantage as they already knew where we were, and that day we were not there, we were elsewhere. They went to see this thing, and it wasn't good for them.

They saw it?

Yes. They saw something, and they never came back to see it again, either. They swore they would never do such a thing again. Here's what happened, they saw a light approaching, and that light came in very low. It entered this channel that I told you about [...] They call it Laura's Mouth. It entered this channel. They took the car and followed. That light went towards them. In their direction and it focused on them. They were in the car and the roof of the car became translucent.

Transparent too, just like before?

Just like it, as if it were glass. They were seeing the sky. It passed, stopped, focused on them with a very strong light and they photographed it.

But it wasn't published?

It was published. On an entire page of the newspaper, or two. With an incredible sharpness. After the scare that they got, some of them even seem to have had a vomiting outbreak. Some lost emotional control. They got into the car and they drove away. A day or two later, this was published in the newspaper.

[...] Was this treated confidentially?

Yes. We had to collect data, document it, photograph it, film it if possible and inform the Commander. From there he decided the destination.

Do you have any idea of where that material went, what they thought about it?

Of course, we treated it and classified it.

[...] Would that go to the Capital?

Yes, later. It was informed to the Capital.

What was their reaction?

They didn't believe it. They even made fun of it...
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SNI investigated UFOs during the dictatorship (Jan 11, 2009)
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/brasil...200907.htm

EXCERPTS: In mid-1977, newspapers in Pará and Maranhão were reporting persistent reports of "mysterious lights that were causing deaths and hallucinations."

People who had come into contact with the phenomenon were experiencing symptoms of "generalized paresis [incomplete paralysis], hyperthermia, headache, superficial burns, intense heat, nausea, body tremors, dizziness, asthenia [weakness] and tiny holes in the skin."

The Air Force did not hesitate. It mobilized men and resources for a mission. In an act of unintentional humor, it gave the self-explanatory name "Operation Saucer" to the task of searching for flying saucers, according to the SNI report.

In addition to the secret service agents and Air Force officers, there was also some kind of collaboration from the Navy, which collected stories from local fishermen.

The idea was to confirm whether there were UFOs in the coastal region between Pará and Maranhão. The agents were divided into shifts. They kept night vigils until dawn in sparsely populated villages.

The SNI document is just an extract of what is in the Air Force and remains secret. The efforts of military "observers" sometimes resulted in nothing. For example, on October 27, 1977:

• "1:15 am - Observers installed on top of the water tank";
  
• "4:05 am - Locals observe the movement of an intense "light" at treetop level (Roberto), inform observers posted in the water tank (30 to 40 m high) at treetop level, nothing observed. Rest of the period, nothing to report."
  
• When the day dawned, I rested. Successive reports from the military in Operation Prato begin like this: "6:30 am - rest until 2 pm".
  
• They slept during the day and worked at night. Sometimes, the intense celestial activity during the night shift meant that rest lasted until 3 pm.

On November 5, 1977, many lights caught the attention of Air Force officers on the mission to find UFOs:

• "1:00 am - "Light" observed hovering over the water in the direction of Joanes/Jobim (PA)";
  
• "2:15 am - A strong blue "light" was observed, close to the Colares lighthouse, moving quickly over the water to the north. A reflected luminosity was observed over the water until 3:25 am."

The SNI report does not explain what these lights actually were. He brings some drawings suggesting they are spaceships. The Minolta SRT-101 camera used to photograph the UFOs recorded "a white spot, as if it were a light".

On another occasion, "the development showed a black spot, as if the film had burned."

In one passage, the military's skepticism is clear: "The 1st Comar [Regional Air Command] team returned to Belém [PA] remaining reserved about what was observed. There is no consensus among the team members about what was seen, but it seems that this attitude is closely related to the fear of being ridiculed in front of colleagues."

[...] One of the most precious jewels for ufologists is still on the military's shelves under the classification of "top secret": the case known as the "Varginha ET", referring to a never-confirmed appearance of two space visitors to the city of the same name in Minas Gerais, in 1996.

At the time, according to reports collected by ufologists, the Army investigated the episode. In the request sent to the Civil House, over a year ago, 12 officers who would have participated directly in the operation are mentioned. The government ignored the question about the "Varginha ET" case and others.

Folha contacted the Ministry of Defense and asked why the ufologists did not receive a specific answer to their questions.

The Army responded with a laconic statement. It neither denies nor confirms the participation of the 12 military personnel in the Varginha case. It also does not answer whether it keeps this or other files in its possession about alleged UFOs and beings from other planets.