Brazilian president blames Leonardo DiCaprio for Amazon fires

Published November 29, 2019 6:54pm ET



Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro blamed actor Leonardo DiCaprio for making donations to nonprofit organizations that he claims caused the fires that have ravaged the Amazon rainforest.

Bolsonaro told supporters Friday, “DiCaprio is a cool guy, isn’t he? Giving money to set the Amazon on fire.” His comments came after a law enforcement raid at the offices of two nonprofit organizations in the Amazonian state of Para. Multiple volunteer firefighters, who deny wrongdoing, were arrested and subsequently released. Local police say they are being accused of igniting fires to obtain funding through nonprofits.

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