Operation Saucer (Portuguese: Operação Prato) was a study conducted by the Brazilian Air Force from 1977 to 1978. It was started after people reported seeing UFOs on the island of Colares. The study ended because no strange events were found.

History

In 1977, many UFOs were seen on the Brazilian island of Colares, Pará. Local people said that marks on their skin were caused by lights in the sky. They called the lights "Chupa Chupa," which means "Sucker-Sucker," a name for a "Lollipop" in the local language. To try to stop the lights, people in Colares held nighttime meetings, made fires, and set off fireworks. The mayor, José Ildone Favacho Soeiro, asked the Air Force for help.

The operation was led by Captain Uyrangê Bolivar Soares Nogueira de Hollanda Lima. In late 1977, several pictures of the lights were taken, but the military doubted their importance. After about four months, the operation ended because no unusual events were found. Official records about the event are kept in the Brazilian National Archives (Arquivo Nacional).

In 1997, twenty years after the operation, Captain Uyrangê spoke to ufologists Ademar José Gevaerd and Marco Antônio Petit. He shared stories about his time with his soldiers. Three months later, he was found dead in his home "after he appeared to have tied a rope around his neck using his bathrobe belt," which interested people who believe in conspiracies.

According to ufologist Jacques Vallée, some people were reportedly killed when UFOs fired at them, and injuries matched effects from microwave radiation. Other ufologists said the lights from UFOs took blood from 400 people.