Operation Prato

The Brazilian Air Force’s investigation into the strange UFO encounters in 1977, known as Operation Prato UFO, remains one of the most intriguing cases in the country’s history.

Name	Operation Prato
Duration	October 1977 to January 1978
Purpose	To know what was happening in Colares, Pará’s section of the Brazilian airspace
Investigated by	Força Aérea Brasileira

In 1977, Brazil had initiated a Project Blue Book-like investigation known as Operação Prato (aka Operation Prato or Operation Saucer).

• It aimed to observe and identify the strange occurrences happening in the northern region of Pará, Brazil.
• It was created in response to the local official’s plea for military assistance, as their citizens were being attacked by what appeared to be flying lights.

This supposed attack is known today as the 1977 Colares Island incident, one of South America’s most fascinating and terrifying UFO cases.

Operation Prato’s extensive documentation of the event attracted the attention of UFO researchers in Brazil and abroad, who regard it as a key case study in the history of UAP research.

What Exactly Was Operation Prato?

Operation Prato was a 1977–1978 mission by the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB, Brazilian Air Force), authorized by the I Comandos Aéreos Regionais (I COMAR, First Regional Air Command) in Belém.

It was launched at the request of the local mayor for military protection and assistance in and around Colares, Pará. Its goals were to:

• Restore public order in Colares Island and the surrounding areas, where fear had affected daily life and driven families from their homes.
• Determine whether the mysterious flying lights terrorizing the population posed a real threat.

The I COMAR assigned Capt. Uyrangê De Hollanda Lima to lead the five- or six-man team to:

• Set up base operations
• Conduct nighttime surveillance
• Document the phenomenon with photos, videos, and sketches

What Triggered the Investigation?

In early August 1977, local authorities received a series of alarming reports of flying lights over Colares and nearby villages. 

Eyewitnesses described these as “glowing domes” and “discs emitting colored beams.” These often chase people or hover over houses, causing many villagers to flee their homes entirely. Some even began sleeping in communal spaces, lighting bonfires all night, and using fireworks to scare the flying lights away.

These would also fire beams of red or green light, leaving the victims with:

• Severe physical exhaustion, as if paralyzed or weighed down 
• Symptoms similar to second-degree burns
• Small puncture marks consistent with needle wounds

The locals called the attacks Chupa-Chupa (“suck-suck” in English) because the lights were sucking something vital (according to reports, it was blood) from their bodies. In women, marks often appeared on the left breasts; in men, on their arms or legs.

Dr. Wellaide Cecim Carvalho, the physician in charge of Colares’s health unit, possessed medical reports documenting similar injuries across most victims. She and other doctors observed and treated symptoms resembling radiation exposure or severe anemia, suggesting that each encounter with the flying lights had an unexplained biological effect.

Are the Chupa-Chupa Attacks Real or Imagined?

The Chupa-Chupa attacks are a unique and unsettling aspect of Operation Prato. Many in the UFO/UAP community have debated the likelihood of its existence. Here are some of their arguments:

• The fear and hysteria over Chupa-Chupa could be attributed to the Colares’s isolated location and its cultural folklore.
• The physical harm to the victims could be from insect bites or infections, but these were misinterpreted due to ongoing panic.
• The lights could be linked to a covert military or intelligence operation testing some kind of advanced experimental tech on the island.

Regardless of their views, eyewitnesses and UFO researchers believe that the Chupa-Chupa was real. Otherwise, how could light beams precisely target a body part and supposedly harvest blood (and possibly tissue) samples from the victims? Such advanced equipment was unheard of and beyond known science at the time.

What’s more, the consistency of eyewitness accounts and medical records added significant weight that Chupa-Chupa did happen.

How Did the Brazilian Air Force Conduct Operation Prato?

When Capt. Hollanda arrived, he established a covert operational base near the coastal town of Vigia. His strategy was focused on systematic fieldwork. He wanted photographic and video documentation for evidence rather than the ongoing speculations or confrontations with the flying lights.

He dispatched surveillance teams of two to three men nightly into the jungle, often near the most recently reported sighting areas. 

They would only carry cameras, binoculars, tape recorders, and theodolites on their bodies. The cameras they used were 8mm and 16mm film cameras, and high-resolution still photographic equipment. They also utilized long-exposure photography and direct observation to record the flying lights’ movement patterns and physical structure.

Beyond this logistical aspect, Capt. Hollanda and the team had to calm and gain the trust of traumatized locals. Only by doing so could they get the locals to cooperate with their investigation.

What Did They Find, and What Was the Official Conclusion?

Operation Prato lasted for roughly four months before Brigadier Protázio Lopes de Oliveira recalled the team back and shut it down. Over that period, they managed to collect extensive documentation.

• Hundreds of pages of field reports and observations
• Detailed mission logbooks
• About 500 photographs 
• Over 16 hours of film footage

Through these, they were able to verify that the flying lights were, in fact, structured, metallic, disc-shaped aerial crafts. There was also the presence of electromagnetic interference, along with visual confirmation of the light beams targeting specific locations.

Despite the evidence, FAB’s official statement left the public dissatisfied. It acknowledged the UAP’s existence, but the flying lights couldn’t be conclusively identified as foreign aircraft and a threat to national security.

The documentation files were then stamped classified, and the government publicly attributed the experiences of Colares’s locals to psychological and natural causes.

Capt. Hollanda’s Testimony Two Decades Later

The details of Operation Prato remained sealed until the retired Capt. Hollanda stepped forward in 1997 to break his silence. He shared his accounts with Brazilian Ufologists Ademar José Gevaerd and Marco Antonio Petit.

You can watch the documentary on YouTube; the Eyes on Cinema shared one with English subtitles on their channel.

In this interview, he confirmed that his team witnessed multiple close encounters with silent, metallic craft performing abrupt, physics-defying maneuvers. This directly confirmed the authenticity of the Chupa-Chupa attacks.

He also claimed that his team was ordered to cease the mission and destroy portions of the photographic and film evidence.

This just means that though the official report stated “inconclusive,” Capt. Hollanda’s testimony, along with the later declassified materials, strongly implies that FAB did have evidence of unknown crafts showing hostile actions in Colares.

Sadly, weeks after giving his explosive testimony, news came of the captain’s sudden death. Official reports ruled it a suicide; however, many Ufologists and the Brazilian public speculated a potential cover-up or foul play.

Are There Documents and Evidence Accessible Today?

Thanks to the UFOs: Freedom of Information Now campaign headed by A.J. Geveard, the military allowed a select group of Ufologists to access 110 photos and 160 documents from Operation Prato in May 2005.

By April 2009, most of Operation Prato’s documentation (along with other UFO cases over the years) had been declassified and became publicly available in Brazil’s Arquivo Nacional (National Archives). Digitized copies are later shared around the world and analyzed by members of the UFO/UAP community.

If you ask if anything is missing or can’t be accessed, perhaps it’s the original film reels, photo negatives, and the full, unedited transcript of Capt. Hollanda’s final testimony.

Still, a high volume of declassified official military records about hostile UAP activity is enough to make Ufologists ecstatic.

Why Does Operation Prato Still Matter Today?

Operation Prato has cemented itself as a prominent UFO/UAP investigation because:

• It mainly represents a military response to an active civilian threat, treating the phenomenon as a public safety issue.
• It sets an example of how governments can take UAP reports seriously, even when official statements are lacking or ambiguous.
• It birthed a shift in global conversation, from government secrecy to transparency. Specifically, researchers use it for comparison with U.S. and international investigations when studying official secrecy and cover-ups and managing public crises.

Admittedly, Operation Prato validated the belief of Brazilians that something extraordinary had occurred during the 1977 Colares incident. The combination of evidence, tragedy, and unanswered questions is the reason new generations continue to get captivated by it.

For more context and detailed reports, you can explore UFO Connect, a dedicated UFO research website, and the extensive UFO archive that preserve valuable records from this historic case.

FAQ

Was Operation Prato ever officially solved?

On paper, yes, with the FAB’s official statement citing nothing unusual was happening in Colares. However, the consistent eyewitness accounts and later declassified documents suggest otherwise.

Are the Operation Prato documents available to the public?

Yes, and you can access it on Brazil’s national archives. However, Ufologists believe some materials remain undisclosed.

What was the Chupa-Chupa, and did it really hurt people?

Chupa-Chupa refers to the beams of light that attacked the locals, leaving them with burns, puncture marks, or physically drained.

The medical records and photos of the victims showed that the injuries were real. And though there was no scientific proof yet, doctors onsite found that the light beams had a biological effect on people.