Incident · October 1977 – 1978 · Colares, Pará, Brazil
Operação Prato (Colares)
Also known as Operation Saucer, Operação Prato, Colares, chupa-chupa, Chupa-Chupa
In 1977, residents of Colares and other parts of the Amazon delta in Pará and Maranhão reported small, fast lights they called chupa-chupa ("suck-suck"), which they said fired beams that left burns, weakness and puncture-like marks. Local authorities asked for help, and the Brazilian Air Force sent a team under Capt. Uyrangê Hollanda that investigated at least 130 cases over several months and gathered photographs and film.
Hollanda's official final report found no indication of extraterrestrial beings. In a 1997 interview, twenty years later and months before his death, he said he and his team had seen structured craft, including an object about 30 m across hovering over them and a larger one with many windows, that they had taken about 400–500 photographs, and that he believed the craft were not of human origin.
The operation's records were transferred to the National Archives of Brazil from 2009 and expanded by Air Force releases in 2013; they are now part of the public "UFO Fund". Hollanda's own statements that the full report remains inaccessible are listed below.
Sources: National Archives of Brazil · Hollanda interview (1997)
Facts and claims
- documented The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) sent a team under Capt. Uyrangê Hollanda to investigate months of reports of lights and beams around Colares and the Amazon delta, including residents with burn-like marks. The team investigated at least 130 cases and gathered photographs and film. Source: querepublicaeessa.an.gov.br (archived)
- documented The operation's records, transferred to the National Archives of Brazil from 2009 and expanded by FAB releases in 2013, are part of the public “UFO Fund” in the SIAN system. Source: querepublicaeessa.an.gov.br (archived)
- claimed Hollanda's official final report found no indication of extraterrestrial beings. Twenty years later, in a 1997 interview, he said he and his team had seen structured craft and that he believed they were not of human origin. He died months later. — Uyrangê Hollanda Source: LAST TESTIMONY OF OPERATION SAUCER COMMANDER UYRANGÊ HOLLANDA -BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE UFO INVESTIGATION at 1:12:30
- claimed In the 1997 testimony he describes an object about 30 m across hovering about 200 m above his team at Baía do Sol, and later an American-football-shaped craft with many windows, about 100 m long. He says developed film showed a beam aimed at their boat that they had not seen. — Uyrangê Hollanda Source: LAST TESTIMONY OF OPERATION SAUCER COMMANDER UYRANGÊ HOLLANDA -BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE UFO INVESTIGATION at 1:04:00
- claimed He says the team took about 400–500 photographs, the films were taken away, and the full report went to the Air Force General Staff, where it remains inaccessible. — Uyrangê Hollanda Source: LAST TESTIMONY OF OPERATION SAUCER COMMANDER UYRANGÊ HOLLANDA -BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE UFO INVESTIGATION at 1:23:00
- claimed The operation followed a wave of reports in Maranhão and Pará of small, fast lights that residents called “chupa-chupa” (“suck-suck”), which they said fired beams that left burns, weakness and puncture-like marks. Local authorities asked for military help. Source: querepublicaeessa.an.gov.br (archived)
Connected files
Books
Claims
Documents
- CMRI decision on the Operação Prato records (Brazil, 2012) (subject of) — The Air Force said its public UFO records had gone to the National Archives; the requester said the Operação Prato reports were not available there
People
- Uyrangê Hollanda (investigated by)
- A. J. Gevaerd (researched by) — He interviewed the operation's commander, Col. Uyrangê Hollanda, in 1997
Videos
- Citizen Hearing 2013: South American Encounters, Part 1 (discussed in)
- Citizen Hearing 2013: South American Encounters, Part 2 (discussed in)
- Hal Puthoff Presentation 06/08/2018 (discussed in)
- LAST TESTIMONY OF OPERATION SAUCER COMMANDER UYRANGÊ HOLLANDA -BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE UFO INVESTIGATION (subject of)
- Joe Rogan Experience #2314: Hal Puthoff (discussed in)
Mentioned in videos
- Citizen Hearing 2013: South American Encounters, Part 1
- Citizen Hearing 2013: South American Encounters, Part 2
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- Chorwon F-94 engagement