Twelve people have been arrested on suspicion of being responsible for fires that ravaged forest lands in northern Venezuela, which is affected by a heat wave, the Minister of Ecosocialism (ret. Environment) José Lorca said yesterday Friday, assuring that the fronts have been “demarcated”.

“In Aragua (central-north) seven suspects were arrested, in Merida (west) five were arrested,” Mr Lorca told public broadcaster VTV after weeks of back-to-back fires in at least five states of the Latin American country.

According to the minister, the fires were dealt with “successfully” and there were no deaths. However, firefighters participating in the extinguishing operations were injured.

According to Mr. Lorca, the fires have destroyed 900,000 of the 1,070,000 hectares of the Henri Pitier National Park, on the border of Aragua and Carabobo states.

A fire also broke out at the headquarters of the Ministry of Transport in Aragua, destroying 112 buses. The authorities believe that it was a “premeditated criminal act”.

“Fires are the result of the expansion of agricultural holdings”, or they are due “to arsonists who set fires on hills every year”, according to Mr. Lorca. “This season has been quite difficult because of the weather conditions, climate change and the El Niño phenomenon,” he added.