Fred Claussen
Col. Fred Claussen is a retired, highly decorated U.S. Air Force colonel who held a top-secret clearance.
Varginha Capitol Hill conference (Jan 2026)
At the January 20, 2026 National Press Club conference on the varginha-incident, Claussen outlined how an alleged secret U.S. retrieval flight could be documented. He said a Brazilian air traffic controller, Marco Feres, reported that on or about January 20, 1996, a U.S. Air Force cargo plane — most likely a C-17 — took off from an American base and landed at Viracopos airport in Campinas to pick up an unusual cargo before departing for an unknown U.S. location.
Claussen noted that such a mission would necessarily generate a paper trail: documentation from Air Mobility Command (Scott AFB, Illinois) and the Air Mobility Wing at Charleston AFB (South Carolina), air-refueling records, and international flight plans both to Brazil and out of Campinas — even if classified. He estimated 30–40 Americans would have direct knowledge of the flight and appealed: “If you were a participant and have knowledge of this mission, come forward.” (src-varginha-capitol-hill-2026)