Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro authorized the deployment of armed forces to help fight fires raging in the Amazon and crack down on criminal activities in the region on Friday.

The decree applies to indigenous territories, conservation areas as well as other regions in the Brazilian states spanning the world's largest rainforest.

He hit back at such criticism in his Friday night address, claiming the spreading of “disinformation” – inside or outside Brazil – would do nothing to solve the Amazon crisis.

“Forest fires exist in the whole world and this cannot serve as a pretext for possible international sanctions,” Mr Bolsonaro said in his brief, scripted address.

It came after Donald Trump offered to help Brazil as it grapples with thousands of wildfires burning in the Amazon.

The US president said he had spoken with Mr Bolsonaro and stated that the countries' prospects for trade are "perhaps stronger than ever."

"I told him if the United States can help with the Amazon Rainforest fires, we stand ready to assist!" Mr Trump tweeted.