Where does the oil that pollutes Brazilian beaches come from?

Brazil's northeast is suffering from an oil spill - and the country's government does not seem to know how it came about. President Jair Bolsonaro said the oil was from abroad. There could be criminals behind it or a sunken ship, he said. "The situation is complicated".

For weeks, the coasts of eight states have been polluted. More than a hundred beaches are affected, according to the Environmental Agency. Several sea turtles are already dead.

The parastatal oil company Petrobas said tests have shown that the oil is not from Brazil. A newspaper reported that the company had sent a report to the Department of the Environment stating that the oil was possibly from Venezuela. Head of State Bolsonaro said that they have a country in view, from which the oil could come. With reference to the ongoing investigation, he did not mention any details.

Petrobas said that they were on the orders of the Environmental Agency to clean the beaches. The responsible Minister Ricardo Salles tweeted that the authorities were also on duty - and had already cleaned the beaches of more than a hundred tons of oil.