Operation Prato and Brazil’s Mysterious UFO Encounter
In 1977, mysterious lights descended over a small Brazilian island, sparking fear among residents who claimed the glowing objects attacked them with powerful beams of light.
Reports of strange burns, puncture marks and unexplained weakness soon caught the attention of the Brazilian Air Force, triggering a secret investigation known as Operation Prato, or Operation Saucer.
What investigators uncovered opened a Pandora’s box of UFO encounters, military photographs and official documents that continue to fuel the mystery nearly fifty years later.
The Mysterious Lights That Terrorized Colares
The strange events unfolded in 1977 around Colares, a fishing community in Brazil’s northern state of Pará, near the Amazon River. 
Residents reported glowing spheres of red, blue and green light hovering over houses, pursuing fishing boats and darting across the night sky.
The phenomenon soon earned the chilling nickname Chupa-Chupa, referring to something that sucks or drains, as witnesses claimed the mysterious lights extracted blood or energy from their bodies.
Fear swept through the community.
Fishermen abandoned nighttime trips, while families lit fires and launched fireworks to ward off the mysterious objects.
Years later, Brazilian Air Force officer Uyrangê Hollanda recalled the disturbances.
“They couldn’t fish because the objects flew overhead, circling around their boats.” – Uyrangê Hollanda, Interview, 1997
Hollanda explained that fishermen could no longer work because mysterious objects repeatedly circled their boats.
As sightings multiplied, local authorities requested military assistance.
Strange Beams of Light and Mysterious Injuries
The most disturbing reports involved residents claiming mysterious beams of light struck their bodies, leaving reddish burns, puncture marks, paralysis and exhaustion.
Dr. Wellaide Cecim Carvalho, a physician in Colares, examined several witnesses suffering from unusual injuries, weakness, dizziness and trembling following their encounters. 
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The alarming cases caught the attention of military investigators, who gathered medical testimony alongside eyewitness accounts.
During his 1997 interview, Hollanda recalled examining a woman who claimed to have been struck by one of the beams.
“There was a brownish mark, as if it were a burn. And two puncture marks.” – Uyrangê Hollanda, Interview, 1997
He described a brownish mark resembling a burn, accompanied by two puncture points.
According to the woman’s account, she had been resting inside her house when a strange light entered the room and struck her chest.
For residents of Colares, the mystery was no longer confined to the skies.
The Brazilian Air Force Launches Operation Prato
By October 1977, the reports had attracted the attention of the Brazilian Air Force.
Military authorities assigned Captain Uyrangê Hollanda and a team of investigators to examine the phenomenon.
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The mission received the codename Operação Prato, translated as Operation Saucer.
Investigators traveled throughout Colares and surrounding communities, interviewing witnesses, documenting injuries and conducting nighttime observations.
Their equipment included cameras, binoculars and communication radios.
Hollanda later explained how the military organized its investigation.
“I was the commander at the time, a captain. And I had five agents. Sometimes five, sometimes six, sometimes four.” – Uyrangê Hollanda, Interview, 1997
The captain generally worked with five military agents, dividing them into observation teams stationed at different locations.
Their objective was to locate the mysterious objects, photograph them and investigate their behavior.
Unlike many famous UFO encounters, Operation Prato left behind substantial official documentation, including photographs, witness statements, drawings and detailed observation logs.
What the Military Photographed in the Night Sky
Perhaps the most intriguing evidence came from the military investigators themselves.
During nighttime observations, team members reported seeing unusual luminous objects moving through the sky.
Some appeared as bright spheres, while others reportedly changed direction, altitude or intensity.
Investigators photographed several unexplained lights, preserving images in official military reports.
Hollanda later recalled the team’s determination to photograph the phenomenon.
“Look, what I really wanted was to put this whole thing to the test. I wanted to bring it out into the open.” – Uyrangê Hollanda, Interview with Revista UFO, 1997
The captain wanted to establish what was happening rather than rely entirely on local stories.
He later described encounters involving objects that accelerated suddenly, changed colors and disappeared into the darkness.
Hollanda also claimed that the military possessed additional photographs and film footage beyond what eventually became public.
Some surviving images are preserved alongside official reports in Brazil’s National Archives.
The Officer Who Broke Twenty Years of Silence
Operation Prato’s initial field missions ended in late 1977, but questions surrounding the investigation continued for decades.
Much of the documentation remained inaccessible, while stories about the encounters circulated among UFO researchers.
Then, in 1997, retired Colonel Uyrangê Hollanda gave an extensive interview to the Brazilian publication Revista UFO.
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The former commander publicly discussed his experiences, describing strange aerial objects, military observations and encounters that convinced him something extraordinary had occurred.
He also explained what the Air Force had hoped to accomplish.
“And the Brazilian Air Force needed to know what was really happening, since this was occurring in Brazilian airspace. It was our responsibility to investigate.”- Uyrangê Hollanda, Interview with Revista UFO, 1997
Hollanda maintained that the investigation concerned mysterious objects operating within Brazilian airspace.
He also claimed that important photographic and film evidence remained undisclosed.
Only months after the interview, Hollanda died in 1997 in an apparent suicide.
His death brought renewed attention to the extraordinary testimony he had left behind.
The Declassified Files and Unanswered Questions
Decades after the investigation, Brazilian authorities made numerous military UFO records accessible through the National Archives.
The released material confirmed that Operation Prato had been a genuine military investigation rather than a story passed down through local folklore.
The documents preserved eyewitness accounts, military observations, sketches and photographs of unexplained lights.
Not every investigator witnessed something extraordinary.
A military physician who accompanied Hollanda during one observation recalled their unsuccessful attempt.
“We wanted to see something, some event already reported by our colleagues, but unfortunately we didn’t see anything.” – Brazilian Air Force Physician, Interview Published by Operação Prato Research Archive
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Although that particular outing produced no sighting, other military personnel documented observations that remain part of the historical record.
The surviving files establish the investigation’s remarkable scale, but they leave unanswered questions about the mysterious lights and reported injuries.
The Mystery That Still Hovers Over Colares
Nearly fifty years later, Operation Prato remains one of Brazil’s most remarkable UFO cases.
An isolated community reported terrifying encounters, military investigators documented unexplained lights, and official records preserved a mystery that continues to attract attention.
Whatever appeared over Colares in 1977, its shadow has never completely disappeared.
References:
https://ufo.com.br/coronel-rompre-silencio-sobre-ufos/
https://ufology.patrickgross.org/htm/colaresrebisso.htm
https://watchthestars.co.uk/blog/_posts/2026-08-operacao-prato-psychiatrist-report/