Without Proof, Bolsonaro Accuses Leonardo DiCaprio of Funding NGO’s That Set Fires

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday, November 29th, that actor Leonardo DiCaprio is paying to promote fires in the Amazon. “Now, Leonardo DiCaprio is a nice guy. Giving money to set fire to the Amazon,” the president told supporters in front of the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia.

Bolsonaro also confirmed his suspicions about the involvement of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in fires in the region.

“When I said there was suspicion of NGOs, what did the press do to me?” the president said, addressing the journalists present.

Bolsonaro’s statements were made after a supporter said: “The Indians in Altamira (Pará) speak French. There the fire was criminal.

Without presenting any evidence, Bolsonaro had already linked the actor to the forest fires during transmission on social networks, on Thursday, November 28.

“He takes a picture, sends it to the NGO, the NGO publishes it, contacts Leonardo DiCaprio and he donates US$500,000 (about R$2.1 million) to the NGO. Leonardo DiCaprio, you are collaborating with the fires in the Amazon,” he said.

The speeches of Bolsonaro refer to the operation of the Civil Police that arrested on Wednesday, 26, four people linked to NGOs that carry out activities in Alter do Chão, in Santarém, Pará. They were released on Thursday, 28.

A conversation that involves a director of an NGO is considered by the police as the main element that links environmentalists and fire brigades. No element linked to expertise, witnesses or conclusive images is presented in the document that supports the request granted by the court, to which the Estado newspaper had access.

For the Civil Police, part of the resources donated by WWF to NGOs would have been diverted. The WWF denied the purchase of photos with DiCaprio donations resources from organizations of the brigade investigated.