On Wednesday, the country’s environment minister, Ricardo Salles, told a congressional hearing that a study by the state oil company Petrobras had concluded that the oil “is very likely from Venezuela”. He said that a foreign ship near Brazil’s coastline appeared to have caused the spill “accidentally or not”. There was no immediate response from Venezuela, but the Brazilian assertion is likely to further escalate tensions between the two countries. “The oil spill that’s reached over 132 beaches in the north-east is criminal. Removing the residue from the ocean can take 10 to 20 years,” said the former environment minister Marina Silva in a tweet.

Source: The Guardian October 09, 2019 21:00 UTC