Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil — January 1996. The most significant UAP incident in South American history. January 13, 1996: Pilot Carlos de Souza observed a cigar-shaped craft crashing near Varginha. Found debris including what he described as self-repairing metallic foil. Military arrived and ordered him away at gunpoint. January 20, 1996 (3:30pm): Three young women — Liliane Silva (16), Valquíria Silva (14), Katia Andrade Xavier (22) — encountered a 4-foot creature with huge red eyes, three bumps on its head, oily dark-brown skin and a strong ammonia smell in a vacant lot. All three accounts have remained consistent for 30 years. They ran home calling it “the devil.” CORPORAL MARCO CHEREZE: Military police corporal Chereze allegedly captured a creature with his bare hands and transported it to Regional Hospital. He subsequently reported a greasy residue on his skin that wouldn’t wash off and persistent ammonia smell. He developed a severe infection and died on February 15, 1996 — 26 days after the incident — at age 23. His family disputes the official cause of death and maintains he died from contact with the creature. MILITARY ACTIVITY: Witnesses reported military convoys cordoning streets, multiple trucks, uniformed personnel. Researchers documented alleged creature transfers to Brazilian Army’s ESA base in Três Corações. Reports of a US cargo plane landing at Campinas Airport and departing with “unusual cargo” — unverified but testified by retired US Colonel Fred Clausen at the January 2026 National Press Club conference. OFFICIAL EXPLANATION: Brazilian Army investigation concluded the women saw a mentally ill homeless man nicknamed “Mudinho.” Entities at the hospital were an expectant couple with dwarfism. Military activity was routine. JAMES FOX: Investigated for 12 years, released “Moment of Contact” documentary (2022). January 2026 National Press Club press conference: new witnesses including an anonymous soldier (face obscured) who stated he participated in transporting “an extraterrestrial.” Neurosurgeon Dr. Italo Venturelli kept his account private for 29 years before coming forward.