Somewhere in the Skies - Operation Saucer and the UFO Island

Episode Date: January 30, 2023

On episode 302 of SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES, we head to Brazil to explore the rich history of UFOs throughout the country. In June of 2022, the Brazilian Senate convened to hear testimony from its own military and government officials about UFOs. Also present were speakers from the United States and the United Kingdom. Throughout the course of the hearing, many UFO events were brought to light. We will explore several of these events, including sightings that were photographed off the coast of Trindade, which would be dubbed "UFO Island. We'll also hear of a string of mass UFO sightings known as the "The Night of the UFOs" and the investigation into these anomalous phenomena which would be officially investigated under the code name: Operação Prato (Operation Saucer). Special thanks to our voiceover talent for this episode: Topher McLean: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTopherHouse Rebecca Jung: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccasearlymidlifecrisis/ Rob Lescarbeau Patreon: www.patreon.com/somewhereskies Website: www.somewhereintheskies.com YouTube Channel: CLICK HERE Book your Cameo video with Ryan at: https://bit.ly/3kwz3DO Official Store: CLICK HERE Buy Somewhere in the Skies coffee! Use promo code: SOMEWHERESKIES10 to get 10% off your order: https://bit.ly/3rmXuap Order Ryan’s book in paperback, ebook, or audiobook: https://amzn.to/3PmydYC Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryansprague51 Twitter: @SomewhereSkies Instagram: @SomewhereSkiesPod Read Ryan’s Articles by CLICKING HERE Watch Mysteries Decoded for free at: https://bit.ly/3rJpbd7 Opening Theme Song, "Ephemeral Reign" by Per Kiilstofte Copyright © 2023 Ryan Sprague. All rights reserved Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/somewhere-in-the-skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Just wanted to drop in and read a couple recent Apple podcast five-star reviews for somewhere in the skies. From Sailor Megs, if you love UFOs, the paranormal and unexplained, then this podcast is for you. I'm a new listener and absolutely love this podcast. From the music to the host to the stories, all five stars. From Zoe Kroch, loved the Whitley-Strieber interview as someone, who was a fan of the communion book and movie. It was absolutely fascinating. From Silent Specter,

I've been listening to this podcast for about a year now, and I'm absolutely fascinated. I've always thought about starting my own podcast, and this one really inspires me to do so. Keep up the great work. From Dartpot Billy, an excellent review with interviews with prominent figures in the field of euphology.

I really enjoy the huge. human aspect that Ryan focuses on. Thank you so much to all of you who took the time to rate and review. If you'd like to have your five-star rating and review read on a future episode, head on over to Apple Podcasts to rate and review today. On June 24, 2002, the Brazilian Senate convened to hear testimony from the country's leading researchers, a formal federal representative, and other speakers. The topic, UFOs. This hearing was organized to address the Brazilian military's history with unusual aerial objects, as well as addressing the global attention the subject had received in recent years, particularly in the United States. Several U.S. representatives spoke at the event as well,

such as Robert Salas, one of the primary witnesses to the Maastrum UFO incident, also in a attendance was UFO researcher from the UK, Gary Heseltine. Joining the hearing remotely was former director of the once secret Pentagon UFO program, Luis Elizondo. He addressed those in attendance on the importance of governmental investigations into UFOs. During this hearing, many cases were brought to light, showing that Brazil was definitely a hotspot for UFO activity, and that the Brazilian Air Force was heavily involved in many of these cases. Whether it included their own personnel or members of the public, the following are just a handful of those cases. And many of them came from one place. Therindaji, or better known to Brazilians, as UFO Island.

This is somewhere in the skies with Brian's bread. In October of 1957, the Brazilian and Navy established a base on the island of Trindaji, strictly for scientific research. The island, which is completely unoccupied, is approximately six miles off the coast of Brazil in the South Atlantic Ocean. From this base, scientists would conduct both oceanic and meteorological research. Many of these research projects would involve the launching of weather balloons each day into the upper atmosphere that would then explode and send research instruments back to the ground, attached to parachutes where data could be collected and studied. However, it wasn't long before those involved in these tests noticed strange, metallic,

disc-shaped objects appearing in the sky near the balloons, almost as if they were monitoring what was taking place. One of these metallic disc-shaped objects was first sighted on the morning of January 1st, when a sudden bright light was witnessed moving across the sky, appearing like a mirror reflecting sunlight. The sighting was witnessed by almost the entire base. The following evening, about 400 miles away, a circular orange object approached the Navy vessel Triunfo and it circled it several times.

This continued for around 10 minutes before the bizarre object took off at great speed and disappeared out of sight. Another incident would occur on January 6th when the chief of the base, Commander Carlos Basilar, oversaw the daily launch of the weather balloon. It was a clear blue sky day, aside for a single group of clouds, at an approximate altitude of 14,000 feet. Although he didn't know it, what Basilar thought was another standard, uneventful balloon launch, would quickly become one of the most mind-blowing encounters of the entire project. Bacilar had returned inside the base and was listening to the signals being sent out by the weather balloon. Then, for no apparent reason, everything stopped. With no signals coming through, the commander returned outside in order to view the balloon.

To begin with, the balloon was ascending as it should. However, almost as soon as it touched the single bank of clouds, it rushed upward as if it had been physically pulled up by some sort of invisible force. Nothing was seen of the balloon for over ten minutes. Then it came back into view once more, only now it was above the cloud bank. unbelievably, the research instruments on the balloon had been entirely removed.

Things got even stranger when several moments later, a metallic silver crescent-shaped object came out of the clouds and headed off into the distance. Just over a week later, the objects appeared again. Only this time, one witness would capture photographic evidence of their presence. A little after 12 p.m. on January 16th, a boat by the name of Almorante, Saldanha, was off the south coast of Trindagi, waiting to set off to Rio de Janeiro. All of the crew and many of the passengers on board, however, would soon notice a strange, shiny object approaching them. One of those who witnessed the approaching anomalous object was a photographer, Almiro Barre. He would later tell a local news reporter that he was making his way to the deck on the afternoon in question.

And two of the Navy officers were rushing toward him, attempting to divert his attention to the sky. Among the commotion, he would hear them say something about a bright object approaching the island. He struggled to see what they were looking at to begin with. Then he caught sight of the flash that it emitted. He suddenly realized just how close to the island it was. As it reflected the sunlight, it appeared to glitter somewhat. Realizing he had his camera in his hands, he raised it to his eye, pointed it at the bizarre object, and pressed down the shutter.

After he had snapped the first two pictures, the object disappeared from their view for several moments, behind the peaks of the island. When it reappeared, it seemed much bigger in size. It was now moving in the opposite direction. It was also moving with much more pace than before. Again, he turned the camera in the object's direction and captured a third photograph.

The craft was now heading back in the direction it had arrived from, back out to sea. Perana managed to raise the camera once more, using the last available film to capture the craft as it disappeared into the distance. He would later describe the object as gray, metallic, and solid-looking. He would further state that a greenish haze or mist appeared to surround it as it moved and that there was a ring that appeared to run around its middle. But Arana would have the photographs developed around an hour later.

However, there was no photographic paper on board, only the negatives were immediately available. Initially, it appeared as if the object had not been captured. However, after viewing them more clearly, all present could see the bizarre craft. When the vessel finally set off to Rio de Janeiro, Verona remained on board and took the negatives with him. He would ultimately develop the pictures at his home studio and would contact Commander Basilar immediately after doing so. Basilar would take the photographs to the Navy ministry, returning them to Burana 48 hours later. However, not long after the pictures were returned, Barana himself was summoned to Navy headquarters. Once there, he was questioned extensively about the pictures.

and the sighting itself. Meanwhile, the pictures were undergoing extensive examinations for signs of tampering. None were discovered, and the pictures were passed by the Navy as authentic. A short time after that, they were officially released to the press. These photos are available to view right now

on the Somewhere in the Skies Instagram page. You can follow us at SomewhereSkies pod. What followed was a media frenzy for information on the citing and interviews with the witnesses. It also sparked the interests of various UFO investigators. One of these investigators was Alavo Fontes. He was told by an anonymous source in the Brazilian Navy that radar had tracked an unknown object in the region the previous day. Even more intriguing, another sighting of an object that matched the same distinct. occurred less than 10 hours earlier.

At around 2.30 a.m. on that morning, the chief of surgery at Rio Hospital, Ezio Esvido Fundau witnessed the object off the coast in the direction of Trindagi Island, along with other members of his family. Even more intriguing, at approximately the same time, an identical object in the same location, was witnessed by several crew of the traditional. Navy Fessel. As the weeks went on and further witnesses came forward, more and more information began to seep

from the pages of the newspapers and into the public arena. According to one report, at the time of the actual sighting, almost all of the ship's navigational equipment began to malfunction, as did their communication systems. Burana himself would state in an interview many years later that just before people began no sense, noticing the metallic shiny object, all of the power on the ship had suddenly cut out. Interestingly, the Navy did not comment on this aspect of the incident,

and according to one article, they considered this aspect of the encounter, top secret. The case continued to fascinate the UFO community, as well as the Brazilian public. However, it wasn't until several years later in 1964 that further information would enter the arena via leaked documents to researcher and investigator, Coral Lorenzen. According to the official Navy documents, which were the result of a report the House of Representatives had ordered of the Navy, a report that had until now remained secret, ultimately concluded that the sighting and photographs, quote, permit the admission that there are indications of the existence of unidentified aerial objects.

End quote. What's also intriguing is that just prior to these documents being leaked to Lorenzen, UFO debunker Donald Menzel had accused Barana of completely faking these photos, and of doing so by using double exposure. He would even repeat these allegations several years later in a book, claiming to detail exactly how this was achieved. But what Menzel never mentioned, or more appropriately purposefully left out,

is the sheer number of witnesses who saw the object with their own eyes. The fact of the matter is this. Besides, Thrandaji, Brazil has a long history of UFOs. For example, in Sao Paulo, on July 23, 1947, only weeks after the alleged Roswell UFO crash in New Mexico, a very strange close-encounter story had emerged. On July 23rd, Jose Higgins reported seeing a white-gray disc-shaped craft

that was resting on the ground on what appeared to be four metal legs. He estimated that the object was around 150 feet across. As he stood taking in as many details as he could, a section of the vehicle opened. and three human figures emerged. The first thing that stood out to Higgins is that they were all around seven feet tall. They had large, bald heads with round eyes,

and they had particularly long legs in comparison to the overall frame. They were all dressed in strange clothing that appeared to resemble plastic bags, and on their backs were something akin to metal boxes. It also appeared that at least two other, their humanoid entities remained inside the craft, and they looked identical to the others. Even though the others had come fully out of the object, they remained in the shade,

as if consciously staying out of direct sunlight, vampire style. Higgins could hear them speaking, although it was a language unknown to him. What in these beings suddenly pointed a metal tube at Higgins and motioned for him to come closer? They gestured for him. for him to look inside the opening of the craft, which he ultimately did, although he did not step inside. He attempted to ask through gesturing where they'd come from. They appear to understand as they drew a large circle on the ground surrounded by several smaller circles. Then they pointed to one of these circles, presumably their home planet. It wasn't clear to Higgins what solar system or planet or even galaxy these seemingly extraterrestrial visitors might have been referring to.

They then gestured for him to go inside, but he politely declined and began to make his way from the scene. After several moments, the entities got back inside the craft, which then ascended into the sky and disappeared. In November of 1952, several more sightings occurred in Brazil. According to an article titled My Contact with Flying Saucers, Dino Crespedon claimed to have witnessed several UFOs over three nights in the mountains of Angatupa. On the third night in question, one of these strange objects landed where Dino was camped. He further put forward that he was invited on board the craft. An invite, he duly accepted. Perhaps one thing of interest in note here

are the claims that Dino was told the aliens came from the satellites of Jupiter. In recent years, scientists have indeed pondered whether at least two of the gas giants' moons could harbor life. So maybe there is some credence to Dino's claim. Around the same time, in Kupato, according to the research files of UFO investigator, Annalica Santos Francisco, a truly tragic event would unfold. A nine-year-old girl was playing outside with friends and her brother.

As they played, though, an extremely strong wind suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing them all to stop what they were doing. Then, a moment later, a bizarre object appeared and landed nearby. The witnesses would later state this strange vehicle was approximately the size of of a bus. After a moment or two, a door opened in the side of this mysterious craft. Moments later, a metallic arrow shot out of the doorway. Before the children could stand anymore, they all turned and ran from the scene. By the time the group had come to their senses and composed themselves, the young girl realized that her brother was missing. After telling her parents

What's what had happened? They and many neighbors and friends set out looking for the young boy. Several hours later, a report was received by the police department of a nearby city. They had found the missing boy wandering the streets in a severe state of shock. By the time the family arrived, the boy was suffering from severe skin burns and an extremely high fever. A short time after he was found, he would tragically pass away. It appeared that he was suffering from exposure to radiation. Only weeks after the encounters at UFO Island had reached their peak, on the night of February 24th, another bizarre encounter unfolded in Brazil.

This time in the state of Bahia. According to a report, the incident occurred at, a little after 3 a.m. when a doctor by the name of Carlos José da Costa Pereira and his friend Antonio de Arruha were being driven by Pereira's driver Manuel Mendez. Suddenly, their car began to stutter. After several moments of this, it cut out all together and came to a sudden stop. The three men stuck out from the vehicle and attempted to discover what the problem might be. Everything appeared to be fine. As they were miles away from the nearest village, they decided to spend the night exactly where they were, and then set out for assistance the next morning. As they were getting ready to do so,

however, they noticed a large, luminous object that appeared to be hovering overhead a short distance away. Pereira would later state how the object glowed with a strange light, which seemed fluid between silver and blue. They soon realized that the object was not. not merely hovering, but was heading in their direction, getting larger with each passing second. The closer it got, the more they could make out the shape, which was like two bowls placed facing each other, with a gold disc or ring running through the middle, as if connecting the upper and lower sections. This ring was spinning extremely quickly. The object came to a stop, approximately 250 feet from where the men were standing.

It was at about a height of 100 feet off the ground. It remained still and silent for several seconds before it went into motion once more. The object then descended directly downward, coming to a stop once more when it was only about 10 feet off the ground. As it descended, the witnesses could see that the bottom section was slightly flattened, and that the glow from the object was spreading toward the ground like a curtain of light,

suspended between the object and the ground below. At this point, Mendez returned to the vehicle, clearly unsettled by the events. Ferreira and his friend, on the other hand, remained where they were, neither taking their eyes from the mysterious object. They remained looking at the craft for several minutes as it remained where it was. Deciding to take matters into their own hands, the two men made the decision to walk toward the hovering craft. However, when they came to within a few feet of it, it shot into the air with breakneck speed, coming to a sudden stop around 600 feet from the ground.

Over the next several minutes, it moved up and across the sky, performing various maneuvers as it did so. Eventually, by around 4.30 a.m., the object disappeared from sight and appeared to be gone for good. However, at 6.30 a.m., two hours later, and almost four hours after they had first seen it, they saw the object again hovering at a relatively low altitude, slightly tilted on its side. It remained motionless for several minutes before it suddenly shot into the distance and disappeared almost instantly. Incidentally, before they set out to search for help with the arrival of daylight, the three men tried the vehicle one last time. To their amazement, the engine roared into life with no problems whatsoever.

While there are many other documented UFO stories out of Brazil, the next case we'll discuss became widely known as the Calares incident and would prompt the Brazilian government to investigate it under the title. Apparato, Prato, or better known in the English-speaking world, as Operation Sasser. The Summer in the Sky's podcast is free to listen to every week, but if you would like to help support the show, we have a very active Patreon page, where you give what you think the show is worth.

In return, you'll get early access to the main show, bonus episodes, and priority to ask our guests your listener questions. Your support truly makes the show continue and grow. So, to learn more and to join, visit patreon.com slash somewhere skies. Operation Saucer was an investigation into a series of reported incidents in 1977, where residents in the Brazilian city of Kalares claimed that they not only witnessed flying saucers, but they were also being attacked by them. Bright objects of differing shapes, sizes, and colors were said to have been flying at low altitudes,

just a few meters above the tops of trees, and firing light beams at people on the ground below. Several witnesses claim to have seen beings piloting these craft, describing them as no more than three to four feet tall. What separates these sightings from the unusual glimpses of UFOs in the skies? the numerous and recurring injuries that people suffered. These beams gave off intense rays of radiation that caused puncture marks and lesions, with some people reporting to local media at the time

that it felt like a heavy weight had been pushed against their chest. Describing the injuries, Dr. Velade Garvalho, who worked in a healthcare unit at the time, would state the following about the patients she treated. The patients suffered lesions to the face or the middle and upper back. They appeared as though these lesions could be some type of radiation burn. The lesions or wounds began with intense reddening of the skin in the affected area. Later, some of the patients claimed that their hair would fall out and their skin would turn black. Despite all of this, there was no pain, only a slight warmth

on their wounds. The patients were men and women of varying ages without any patterns. Soon, the saucers were quickly dubbed chupa-chupa, meaning sucker-sucker, and with reports of more sightings and more incidents of people being injured or losing blood, panic soon started to set in, and women and children left the area, while local men stayed to look after their homes or possessions. With no reasonable explanation offered as to what exactly was behind the so-called attacks from the UFOs or jupatupus, the Brazilian Air Force was tasked with finding out what was going on. And this is when they decided to launch Operation Sasser, which would subsequently compile a 2,000-page military report,

featuring 500 photographs in 16 hours of film that the Brazilian Airs, Air Force reportedly witnessed with their own eyes. Brazilian UFO researcher Daniel Rabiso Gisi claimed that several military personnel suffered nervous breakdowns, while others went completely insane during the course of the investigation. The documents within the investigation were kept classified until several pages were released in 2004, showing drawings and photographs of what the military saw. bright cylindrical lights featured in the photographs, while several drawings show similarly shaped objects witnessed by people on the island at the time. Despite this, the operation never explicitly stated

that UFOs or aliens were the official cause of the sightings and injuries. However, high-ranking officials from the Air Force reportedly told a group of UFO researchers in 2004 that they had discreetly been studying the existence of UFOs since the mid-1950s. Dr. Cavalho would later come forward to claim the following on what the Air Force told her to tell her patients and the public. I was ordered to lie to them about their injuries. To tell them they were simply hallucinations, this is what the Air Force told me to say,

that it didn't happen. I was told to tell the public it was mass hysteria, but nobody can have the same delirium, the same visual and synthetic hallucinations at the same time in different places. Even more stunning, Carvalho would claim to have witnessed a UFO herself. I could see the UFO's bright metal. It wasn't disc-shaped, however. It was much more like a cone or a cylinder.

This was all I needed to know. Something was truly happening. I had now witnessed it myself. In addition, the commander of Operation Sasser, Captain Yerange Bolivar Suarez, gave an interview in 1997 to UFO magazine, where he recounted how terrified his men were during their investigations. He went on to reveal eyewitness statements which described residents waking up to beams wearing protective clothing and shooting colored beams at their heads, as well as several officers reporting seeing strange lights emerging from and diving back into coastal waters,

leading some to assume this was the location of a UFO base. Three months after giving this interview, the captain was found dead in his home. It was concluded that he had committed suicide, leaving some to speculate that perhaps giving the interview did not leave the Brazilian Air Force happy, and that he was actually murdered for coming forward. Again, only speculation, and tragic, no matter the case.

While Operation Sasser was indeed a pinnacle moment in time for Brazilian UFO history, another event would hit the country almost a decade later, and it would come to be known by locals as the night of the UFOs. On May 19, 1986, Sergeant Sergio Motta, the air traffic controller at the Sao Jose Dos Campos Airport in Sao Paulo, spotted a light in the sky from the control tower. Intrityed by this, Mota asked controllers at Sao Paulo's Garulis International Airport Tower to check if any plane was heading to his airfield. The answer was negative, and while he was talking, The object vanished. After a while, the object reappeared, this time shining even more brightly.

Mota fetched some binoculars to observe the object better and found that the object was light and multicolored. At one point, the sergeant dimmed the airport runway lights and the object moved closer, and when he increased the brightness, the object moved away. In an interview with the BBC, Mota would state the following. Whether they were trying to interact with me, I don't know. What I do know is that they behaved intelligently. Around the same time frame, about 200 soldiers, including cadets and officers from the school of aeronautical specialists, also spotted these lights, either with the naked eye or with binoculars.

according to the euphologist Edison Jr., president of the Guarouha Euphological Group. In addition, at least three planes reported similar sightings that night, one of which was piloted by Brazilian entrepreneur Ozeres Silva. The objects were also picked up on radar from the Brazilian Air Forces Integrated Center for Air Defense and Air Traffic Control, meaning these were solid objects. The Air Force scrambled its combat aircraft to intercept the objects. However, the pilots were disoriented by what they had encountered.

According to them, these multicolored objects could hover statically in the sky, fly in zigzag formations, turn at right angles, change color, trajectory, and altitude, and they could reach up to 15 times the speed of sound. Mota, the air traffic controller, would also add the following. The number of objects was much higher than 21. Sometimes the pilots had visual contact, but the radars did not register anything. Other times the radars even detected the presence of objects,

but the pilots could not see them. The Air Force only considered sightings in which there were simultaneous confirmation. The rest were discarded. Initially, three planes were dispatched, the first of which, in F5E, piloted by Lieutenant

Kleber Caldes Marino, left the Santa Cruz Air Base in Rio de Janeiro at 1034 p.m. He described closing in on the target, which stopped moving towards him and started to climb. He kept following the contact

until about 30,000 feet when he lost radar contact and was left with just visual contact. The second fighter, a Mirage F-103, piloted by Captain Armindo Sousa, took off at 10.48 p.m. from the Annapolis Air Base. At 11.09 p.m., the captain noticed an unidentified signal, which appeared 22 kilometers away on his radar. He immediately framed his target and prepared to fire at the suspected enemy.

His plane soon hit the speed of Mach 1.3. And much to the amazement of the captain, when he was 9 kilometers from the target, the object accelerated sharply and reached the speed of Mach 15. The third fighter, also in F5, piloted by Captain Marchio Ordow, left the second. Santa Cruz Air Base at 10.50 p.m. And nine minutes later, while conducting searches in the San Jose Dos Campos region, he was informed by his flight controller, one Sergeant Nelson, that numerous objects were flying behind him. Based on this, the captain performed a 180 maneuver to see his pursuers, but to no avail. According to radar images, there were a total of

13 UFOs, seven on one side and six on the other, that escorted the captain. Photojournalist, Adir Brito, was also working that night in his newspaper office when he received a tip-off that there was a flying saucer overhead the newspaper office. He initially assumed it to be a joke, but he did go outside with a reporter to check it out. And much to his surprise, he saw a multicolored object moving about in the night sky, and he was able to capture several photographs of it. A month later, two officers from the aerospace technical center, working in conjunction with the Brazilian Air Force, accompanied by the American UFO researcher, James J. Hurtock, turned up at the newsroom and demanded that the editor hand them over the

negatives of the photos taken by Brito, on the pretext that they needed to be analyzed by NASA, these negatives were never returned. Four days later, then-minister of aeronautics, Brigadier Octavio Uliro Marrera Lima, held a press conference in which he told the reporters that five Brazilian fighter jets chased 21 UFOs in total. In front of the packed room, he would state the following. It's not about whether or not you believe in extraterrestrial beings or flying saucers. We can only give technical information.

There are several assumptions. Technically, I would tell you that we have no explanation. All I can tell for certain is that these events will be investigated and, within 30 days, a report will be released. That report would not be released to the public until 23 years later in 2009. The report concluded that, quote, the phenomena are solid and reflect in a certain way, intelligence, due to the ability to follow and maintain a distance from observers, as well as to fly in formation, not necessarily manned. So, what exactly happened that night over Brazil, like most other UFO cases, remains unexplained. While Brazil was undoubtedly busy with UFO reports throughout history,

the fact is this abundance of activity has continued throughout the decades, with regular UFO encounters reported even today. So why the abundance in this area of the world? Is it the dense forests and jungles that offer the chance for either top-secret military projects? Or is some sort of non-human intelligence somehow attracted to these areas, rich with nature and resources? Or might the fact that the Atlantic hugs a huge part of the country offer credence to the claims that these alien entities

have established some kind of permanent presence deep below our oceans. We obviously can't be certain. But one thing we can be certain of is that UFO Island and Brazil in general is undoubtedly just as crucial as anywhere else in unlocking

the secrets of the UFO mystery. And as Brazil continues to experience these anomalous events, perhaps the words of Luis Alizando will give them hope of one day finding answers somewhere in the skies. Here is Elizondo speaking at the Brazilian hearing. Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, and esteemed members of the government of Brazil.

My name is Luis Elizondo, and I'm a career intelligence officer with the United States government. From 2008 to 2017, I had the privilege to participate in a small but significant program within the Pentagon, focusing on the collection of UFO data. In 2010, I was asked to lead the overall effort, which later became a small footnote to my country's history involving the dedicated study of this phenomenon. It was during this time that it became very evident to all of us involved in the project

that our military was encountering a technology that far exceeded our own capabilities. Furthermore, it was abundantly clear that this technology had the ability to gain access to our controlled airspace and once more perform in ways that was unimaginable and yet verifiable by some of our most sophisticated wecking platforms and data collection techniques. Save now at Whole Foods Market.

It's the summer splash event with great everyday prices on 365 brand ground beef for the grill and ice cream for dessert. They have yellow sales signs on ready to cook beef or chicken kebabs too. Level up with savory marinate, spices and rubs, and cumbers. complete your cookout with a crowd-pleasing cherry pie and their balsamic chicken salad, available at the prepared foods counter. Get Summer Splash Savings Now at Whole Foods Market. Recently, elected officials in my country have decided the evidence was too overwhelming to ignore

and called upon our defense and intelligence communities to participate in a public hearing, of which I suspect many more will follow. The result of the hearing was simple and yet astonishing. One, UFOs are real. Two, UFOs most likely represent a real technology. And three, UFOs are considered a national interest for the United States. Further reinforcing this new priority is a requirement for our defense and intelligence communities to work with partner nations and allies.

Although I applaud this new renewed interest in a historically forbidden area of study, it is with great concern that I worry about any single country having monopoly on the study of what is now considered beyond next generation technology and by default controlling the narrative on this topic. Ladies and gentlemen, today I speak to you not as a former intelligence officer, not as a representative of the U.S. government, and not as a UFO expert. Today, I appeal to you as an ordinary citizen of the world, as your brother, your father, your son. Pleading, you take this topic seriously and to do what is necessary, not just for your constituents, but for every person on the planet. Today, you have a rare opportunity that comes only once in a lifetime. Today, I ask you seriously consider the establishment of a Brazilian government-sponsored UFO program. That includes scientists and academics.

The time has come to remove conspiracy theory and replace it with quantum theory. Remove stigma and replace it with academia. Remove secrecy and replace it with transparency. I ask that Brazil help lead the world in a new millennium of enlightenment and knowledge. I dream that one day Brazil may sit amongst friends, perhaps at the United Nations, and help usher in a new era of understanding. understanding. You are in a very rare opportunity right now as leaders for Brazil. Please make no mistake, you are on the right side of history with this conversation. Thank you and God bless.

This main episode only scratched the surface of Brazil's mysterious history with the UFOs. In a companion bonus episode, we explore the baffling case of the lead-masked euphologists. In 1966, two Brazilian UFO researchers headed up to a hillside. They wore suits, had briefcases, and also wore lead masks over their eyes. Then UFOs began to swarm the area. These two men would be found dead only days later. Upon hearing of their deaths, a mystery would unravel that even brought a prominent eophologist to Brazil to investigate, Jacques Valet. This is the mystery of the lead-masked eophologists. To listen right now, become an Apple premium subscriber at the top of your Apple podcast feed,

or you can become a Patreon subscriber. You'll get our entire archives of bonus episodes and early editions of the main show. Just click the subscriber button at the top of your Apple feed, or visit patreon.com slash somewhere skies. episode was researched by Marcus Loth. To learn more, visit UFOinsight.com. If you haven't already, please take a moment to follow, subscribe, rate, and review somewhere in the skies on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get the podcast. It helps us gain visibility and find new listeners. Thank you in advance. And also, thank you so much for listening. And remember,

keep your feet on the ground, but never stop searching somewhere. to the skies. Somewhere in the skies is produced by third kind productions in association with the Entertainment One podcast network.