South America
Every record that shares this tag.
89 records tagged region
Incidents
48 incidents
The Varginha IncidentEvidence rated ContestedIn January 1996, three young women in Varginha, Brazil, reported encountering a terrified, foul-smelling humanoid creature in a vacant lot; within weeks a military police officer who allegedly captured the being was dead, and the case became South America's most debated UFO incident.Colares UFO Flap & Operation SaucerEvidence rated ContestedFor months in 1977–78, residents of the Brazilian island of Colares reported being attacked by luminous aerial objects that fired beams of light, leaving burns and puncture wounds — prompting the Brazilian Air Force to launch Operation Saucer (Operação Prato), the most extensive military UFO field investigation in Latin American history.Chilean Navy Helicopter UFO EncounterEvidence rated DocumentedChilean Navy helicopter equipped with military FLIR camera records unidentified object with thermal discharge capability; officially investigated by government committee with no conventional explanation.Trindade Island UFO PhotographsEvidence rated ContestedBrazilian Navy training ship witnesses disk-shaped object over remote Atlantic island with photographic evidence analyzed by both Brazilian and U.S. authorities.Fort Itaipu IncidentEvidence rated DocumentedTwo sentinels at a Brazilian military fortress suffered moderate burns during a close encounter with a luminous circular craft, triggering investigation by Brazilian and US military authorities.Knowles Family Nullarbor EncounterEvidence rated DocumentedFour family members in a car experienced an intense UFO encounter involving physical contact with a craft, vehicular damage, and sensory distortions on the Nullarbor Plain.Falkland Islands War UFO EncounterEvidence rated ContestedArgentine military personnel reported encounters with humanoid figures and an unidentified craft during the 1982 Falklands War, an incident subsequently classified by military authorities.Atacama Humanoid IncidentEvidence rated DebunkedSmall mummified humanoid remains discovered in Chilean Atacama Desert, promoted as extraterrestrial but definitively identified as human with rare genetic mutations.Varginha IncidentEvidence rated ContestedOn 20 January 1996 three young women in Varginha, Brazil reported a crouching, dark-skinned, red-eyed creature, spawning rumors of a military capture that an Army inquiry attributed to a misidentified local man.Campo Largo UFO SightingEvidence rated DocumentedViral video incident of unusual lights in rural Paraná, Brazil, recorded by influencer Mayk Leão in May 2026. Initially unexplained, subsequently identified as misidentification of ground lights from nearby campsite.Ariel School EncounterEvidence rated ContestedOver 60 primary school children witnessed a silver craft land near their school in Zimbabwe and reported contact with non-human beings.Buga Sphere IncidentEvidence rated ContestedA seamless metallic sphere discovered in Buga, Colombia sparked viral speculation about extraterrestrial origin despite mainstream scientific skepticism.Brazilian Amazon Craft RecoveryEvidence rated ContestedRetired Brazilian military officer testified to covert recovery of non-human craft in Amazon basin with anomalous material properties, described as 'biggest UFO bombshell of 2026.'Mexico's Congressional UAP HearingEvidence rated DocumentedMexico's Chamber of Deputies held a historic UAP hearing featuring testimony from international military experts and allegations of recovered extraterrestrial remains.Night of the UFOsEvidence rated DocumentedOn May 19, 1986, 21 unidentified flying objects appeared across four Brazilian states, triggering military interception attempts and official government acknowledgment of unexplained phenomena.Antioquia UAP Sighting (Arteaga Flyby)Evidence rated ContestedCommercial pilot Jorge Arteaga captured clear video footage of a high-speed, disc-shaped metallic object near his aircraft over Antioquia, Colombia.Bariloche UFO IncidentEvidence rated DocumentedCommercial aircraft carrying 102 passengers encounters bright unidentified object for 17 minutes on final approach to Bariloche; multiple ground witnesses and airport instruments register electromagnetic interference.Salta UFO Flap and Alleged Crash ("Roswell Argentino")Evidence rated ContestedA months-long 1995 Argentine UFO wave culminated in a reported explosion and smoke column over Serranía Colorada near Joaquín V. González, Salta, that local lore has since dubbed the "Roswell Argentino."La Joya Air Force Base IncidentEvidence rated DocumentedPeruvian Air Force pilot engages unknown spherical object with cannon fire, remains only documented case of military combat aircraft opening fire on a UFO.Brazilian Armed Forces Craft Recovery, 2026Evidence rated ContestedRetired Brazilian Armed Forces colonel testified in March 2026 to a secret military operation that successfully recovered a non-human craft in the Amazon basin during early 2025.Necochea UFO IncidentEvidence rated DocumentedOn August 29, 1962, truck driver Osman Alberto Simonini encountered a metallic cigar-shaped UFO near Necochea, Argentina, that left a physical trace and triggered official Argentine Navy investigation.Lima Airport UFO SightingsEvidence rated DocumentedMultiple unidentified objects halted air traffic at Lima's international airport for three hours in February 2015, confirmed by radar and commercial pilots.Isla de Lobos Lighthouse IncidentEvidence rated ContestedA Uruguayan Navy corporal guarding a remote lighthouse reports a landed craft and three humanoid figures, paralysis, and a telepathic warning not to fire his weapon.Collahuasi Copper Mine UFO SightingEvidence rated DocumentedOver 200 workers at Chile's largest copper mine witnessed a disc-shaped UFO hover silently for approximately one hour in April 2013, officially investigated and recognized by Chile's aviation authority.Deception Island Antarctic Sighting (1965)Evidence rated ContestedIn mid-1965, personnel at Argentine and Chilean Antarctic stations reported a luminous object that zigzagged and hovered for about twenty minutes; the Argentine Navy issued a communiqué, and a US Embassy airgram later confirmed the reports were taken seriously, but the object was never identified.Espora Air Base Incident (2023)Evidence rated ContestedOn the night of 5 September 2023, viral videos and reports of gunfire and explosions at Argentina's Espora Naval Air Base were tied by a UFO group to four objects and an alleged laser attack that injured soldiers; the base and the Navy denied any UFO event, attributing the noises to a helicopter training flight.Villas-Boas Abduction (Brazil, 1957)Evidence rated ContestedA Brazilian farmer, Antônio Villas-Boas, claimed that a red craft landed while he was ploughing at night and that he was taken aboard and sexually involved with a humanoid, in what became one of the earliest widely publicized abduction narratives.Cerro Uritorco and the Pajarillo Burn Mark (1986)Evidence rated ContestedA reported UFO landing on a hill above Capilla del Monte, Argentina, left a large dark mark that gave the town its enduring reputation as a UFO destination, and whose staging is alleged by some local sources.Lead Masks Case (Niterói, 1966)Evidence rated ContestedTwo Brazilian electronics technicians were found dead on a Niterói hill wearing lead eye masks and holding a note about swallowing capsules; the cause of death was never determined, and a minority of ufologists have linked the case to attempted contact with extraterrestrials.Caso Bariloche (1995)Evidence rated ContestedOn the night of 31 July 1995 an Aerolíneas Argentinas Boeing 727 approaching Bariloche during a citywide blackout reported an intercepting light that forced a high-risk evasive maneuver; Argentina's Air Force later attributed it to a projector beam, and the official file was declassified in 2020.Bahía Blanca UFO Wave (May 1962)Evidence rated ContestedA cluster of UFO reports around Bahía Blanca in May 1962, including sightings at the Espora and Port Belgrano naval installations, is often cited as the point when Argentina's military began taking UFO reports seriously.Río Cuarto Luminous Object (2008)Evidence rated ContestedOn the night of 14 January 2008, hundreds of residents of Río Cuarto, Argentina, and an Argentine Air Force control-tower operator reported a bright, unidentified object that ignored radio calls. The Air Force said it matched no aircraft or known satellite, then left the case without a published identification.Trancas (Tucumán) Incident 1963Evidence rated ContestedOn the night of 21 October 1963, members of the Moreno family and a household employee on a farm near Trancas, Tucumán, reported several luminous craft hovering beside the railway line and a gate, an event that became one of Argentina's most cited early UFO cases.Yacanto Cone Photograph, Córdoba, 1960Evidence rated ContestedOn 3 July 1960 Argentine Air Force Captain Hugo Niotti photographed a dark, cone-shaped object hovering near a road in Córdoba Province; the photo was reviewed by Air Force intelligence, but the case stayed little known until 1977 and remains a single-witness claim.Gravataí Air Base Sighting (1954)Evidence rated ContestedOn the afternoon of 24 October 1954, personnel at the Brazilian Air Force base at Gravataí reported circular objects moving faster than any known aircraft, an episode that led the Brazilian Air Force to publicly acknowledge the reports and open an intelligence-led investigation.Otoco Humanoid Encounter (Potosí, Bolivia, 1968)Evidence rated FringeIn 1968 (possibly 1967), a Quechua shepherdess named Valentina Flores reported a short, helmeted humanoid gutting her sheep near Otoco in Bolivia; the account rests on a single witness and was first published in 1970.La Joya (Arequipa) UFO Encounter, 1980Evidence rated ContestedOn 11 April 1980 a Peruvian Air Force Sukhoi Su-22 pilot, Óscar Santa María Huerta, says he fired on a dome-shaped object over the La Joya air base in Arequipa; the account rests largely on his later testimony and a 1980-era DIA intelligence report.Dionisio Llanca Abduction (1973)Evidence rated ContestedA 25-year-old truck driver, Dionisio Llanca, reported a light, three beings and lost time after stopping to change a tire on a highway south of Bahía Blanca in October 1973; his later hypnosis-assisted recollections made it one of Argentina's best-known abduction claims.Operação Prato (Colares, 1977)Evidence rated ContestedFrom October to December 1977 the Brazilian Air Force investigated a wave of luminous UFO reports and alleged burn injuries on Colares island, Pará; the operation, known as Operação Prato, closed with no unusual phenomena identified, though its records and the injury claims remain disputed.Antofagasta Radar-Visual Encounter (Cerro Moreno, Chile, 1978)Evidence rated ContestedTwo Chilean Air Force F-5 training jets and the Cerro Moreno ground radar reportedly tracked a large, smoke-shrouded object near Antofagasta around noon, a case that became one of South America's best-known military radar-visual reports.Paysandú (Termas del Almirón) Lights, 2023Evidence rated ContestedIn February 2023, about a dozen to twenty people at a hot-springs festival in western Uruguay saw red, flashing lights from a low-flying object; the Uruguayan Air Force sent its UFO commission CRIDOVNI to investigate, and no public conclusion has been published.Petare Humanoid Encounter (Caracas, 1954)Evidence rated ContestedIn the early hours of late November 1954, two men driving a van outside Caracas reported a glowing sphere blocking the road and a hairy, clawed small being that one of them grappled with before it returned to the craft, which then left silently — an account recorded by Venezuelan police but never independently verified.Faucett DC-4 encounter (Piura–Lima, 1967)Evidence rated ContestedOn 2 February 1967, the crew and about 52 passengers of a Faucett DC-4 flying from Piura to Lima reported a cone-shaped luminous object that paced the airliner for about an hour, with a second object joining it. Military authorities questioned the crew and confiscated the passengers' films. No official explanation was published.Arica Radar-Visual UFO Incident (1997)Evidence rated ContestedIn the early hours of 31 March 1997, control-tower staff at Arica's Chacalluta airport reported three luminous objects that were reportedly confirmed on radar; the Chilean civil aviation authority publicly acknowledged the radar returns and the episode led to the creation of Chile's CEFAA committee on anomalous aerial phenomena.Tarija / Cerro El Zaire Object (Bolivia–Argentina border, 1978)Evidence rated ContestedOn 6 May 1978 a bright cylindrical or egg-shaped object was reported falling and exploding on a mountain on the Bolivia–Argentina border; officials and the press gave conflicting explanations, and claims of a US retrieval remain unverified.VASP Flight 169 (Brazil, 1982)Evidence rated ContestedOn a night flight from Fortaleza to Rio de Janeiro, the crew of VASP Boeing 727 PP-SNG reported an object that moved around the airliner for roughly half an hour. The commander ruled out Venus; a 2014 Journal of Scientific Exploration paper argues Venus, possibly distorted by the atmosphere, is the likely explanation.Dique La Florida close encounter (1978)Evidence rated ContestedOn 4 February 1978, six fishermen at the Dique La Florida reservoir in San Luis Province, Argentina, reported a plate-shaped craft and a blond, human-looking being that walked to the shore; provincial and federal police took testimony, and the file was later reported to have been forwarded to US authorities.Chile Airliner Sighting 2018 (Six Commercial Flights)Evidence rated ContestedPilots of six commercial airliners over northern Chile reported bright, moving lights, some described as triangular, and the national civil aviation committee confirmed the reports without identifying the objects.
Personalities
41 people
Fabio ZerpaEvidence rated DocumentedSouth American UFO researcher and paranormal investigator; pioneered institutional UFO research in Argentina and documented 3,000+ casesOscar Santa María HuertaEvidence rated DocumentedPeruvian Air Force colonel who attempted to shoot down a UFO over La Joya Air Base in 1980—the only documented case of a military aircraft firing weapons at a UAP.Urandir Fernandes de OliveiraEvidence rated ContestedBrazilian ufologist and entrepreneur who founded Dakila Pesquisas and established the world's first lato sensu graduate program in Ufology in 2026.Jorge ArteagaEvidence rated DocumentedCommercial pilot who captured what ufologists call the 'best UAP footage ever' over Antioquia, Colombia in 2022.Jaime RodríguezEvidence rated ContestedEcuador's best-known ufólogo, who presided over the short-lived CEIFO government-linked UFO commission (2005–2007) and has since built his public profile on TV, books and claims the commission's files were never fully opened.Noe TorresEvidence rated DocumentedAmerican UFO historian and author specializing in undocumented crash incidents along the US-Mexico borderAna Luisa CidEvidence rated DocumentedMexico's leading UFO researcher known for professional investigations of humanoid encounters and mass sightings.Gustavo GonzalezEvidence rated DocumentedCuban businessman and truck driver involved in the famous 1954 Petare humanoid encounter in Venezuela.Klaus DonaEvidence rated FringeAustrian archaeologist and curator specializing in out-of-place artifacts and forbidden archaeology.Enrique Castillo RincónEvidence rated FringeCosta Rican electrical engineer and Pleiadian contactee whose detailed contact narratives became one of the most documented extraterrestrial contact cases in South America.Jorge MartínEvidence rated ContestedPuerto Rican investigative journalist and UFO researcher specializing in Caribbean phenomena and alleged extraterrestrial bases.Ramón Navia-OsorioEvidence rated DocumentedBarcelona-based UFO researcher, entrepreneur, and founder of the Institute for Research and Exobiological Studies (IIEE) known for investigating the Atacama humanoid.Thierry JaminEvidence rated ContestedFrench explorer claiming extraterrestrial origins for Nazca mummies and lost Incan archaeological sitesEnrique BarriosEvidence rated FringeVenezuelan author and UFO contactee whose Ami book series conveyed extraterrestrial messages of universal love to millions.Carlos Diaz VilchisEvidence rated ContestedMexican photographer who documented decades of alleged direct contact with extraterrestrial beings through the 'Ships of Light' encounters beginning in 1981.Sixto Paz WellsEvidence rated ContestedPeruvian author and contactee who founded the Rahma Mission, a systematic protocol for facilitating extraterrestrial contact through group meditation.Credo Vusamazulu MutwaEvidence rated ContestedZulu sangoma and author who integrated alien abduction accounts into African oral tradition, linking UFO encounters to ancestral spiritual knowledge.Luis Fernando Mostajo MaertensEvidence rated FringeBolivian architect and UFO contactee claiming direct ET contact since age 13; author and international speaker on extraterrestrial contact and spiritual preparation.Jacobo Grinberg-ZylberbaumEvidence rated ContestedMexican neurophysiologist and consciousness researcher who developed the Syntergic Theory and mysteriously disappeared in 1994.Scott CorralesEvidence rated DocumentedHispanic ufology researcher and founder of Inexplicata journal, specialist in Latin American UAP phenomena and paranormal encounters.Reinaldo RíosEvidence rated ContestedPuerto Rican educator and ufologist who pioneered Caribbean cryptozoological research and founded the Ruta Extraterrestre.Ricardo BermúdezEvidence rated DocumentedChilean Air Force general who founded and directed Chile's official government UAP investigation program.Dr. Ardy Sixkiller ClarkeEvidence rated DocumentedCherokee/Choctaw academic and UFO researcher who documented indigenous Star People contact traditions.Carlos de SouzaEvidence rated DocumentedPrimary witness to Brazil's Varginha UFO incident (1996) who emerged publicly in 2026 to testify before Congress after three decades of silence.J. PosadasEvidence rated FringeTrotskyist revolutionary who synthesized Marxist theory with belief in extraterrestrial communist civilizations observing humanity's path to socialism.Rodrigo FuenzalidaEvidence rated DocumentedChilean ufologist and founder of AION, the media-facing figure who took Chilean UFO research onto the international stageDr. Olavo T. FontesEvidence rated DocumentedBrazilian physician and pioneering UFO investigator who brought medical rigor to South American UAP documentation (1957–1968).Silvia Pérez SimondiniEvidence rated DocumentedArgentine ufologist and director of CEFORA, leading organized declassification efforts in South AmericaAlmiro BaraunaEvidence rated ContestedBrazilian submarine photographer who captured the most analyzed UFO photographs of the 1950s at Trindade IslandJoão MartinsEvidence rated ContestedPioneering Brazilian journalist who brought early abduction cases and UFO sightings to international attention through O Cruzeiro magazine.Uyrangê Bolivar Soares Nogueira de Hollanda LimaEvidence rated ContestedBrazilian Air Force captain who commanded the military's only official investigation into the Amazon's "Chupa-Chupa" light attacks, then died under disputed circumstances weeks after finally speaking publicly about it.Thiago Luiz TicchettiEvidence rated DocumentedLeading Brazilian UFO researcher, editor of Revista UFO, MUFON Brazil National Director with 30+ years investigating South American cases.Javier Cabrera DarqueaEvidence rated FringePeruvian physician and curator of the Ica Stones museum, who spent over four decades documenting and promoting controversial engraved stones claimed to depict ancient advanced knowledge.Vitório PacacciniEvidence rated ContestedItalian-Brazilian engineer who has been the founding, and most persistent, investigator of Brazil's most famous UFO case, the 1996 Varginha incident.Virgilio Sanchez-OcejoEvidence rated DocumentedCuban-born UFO researcher and journalist who bridged Spanish and English-language UFO research traditions through Miami-based investigations and publications.Timothy AlberinoEvidence rated FringeAmerican author and explorer who interprets UFO phenomena as manifestations of fallen angels and Nephilim, blending biblical theology with alternative history research.Rony VernetEvidence rated DocumentedBrazilian engineer and UAP researcher investigating Amazon phenomena and indigenous accountsLuis BurgosEvidence rated DocumentedArgentine field ufologist and founder of the Fundación Argentina de Ovnilogía, custodian of ~4,000 documented UFO cases from Argentina since 1947.Ademar José GevaerdEvidence rated DocumentedBrazilian ufologist, editor of Revista UFO, founder of CBPDV, CBU, and IBEXO; chronicler of the Varginha case and Brazil's most influential researcher of his generationChico XavierEvidence rated ContestedBrazilian spiritist medium who claimed extraterrestrial contact and prophesied humanity's galactic future.Anthony ChoyEvidence rated DocumentedPeruvian Air Force investigator and ufologist who led Latin America's first official government UFO research program.