Leonardo DiCaprio Intervenes in Chilean Power Project to Save Endangered Frog

Leonardo DiCaprio urged Chilean authorities to protect the critically endangered Pehuenche spiny-chest frog from a proposed high-voltage transmission line, according to reports by Bloomberg and Newser. The actor warned his millions of Instagram followers that fewer than 1,000 of the amphibians remain in the wild, injecting high-profile international attention into an ongoing environmental review.

Los Cóndores-Río Diamante Project Threatens Amphibian Habitat

The dispute centers on the Los Cóndores-Río Diamante project, a 500-kilovolt power-transmission line developed by Enel Generacion Chile. According to Bloomberg, the infrastructure aims to connect the electricity systems of Chile and Argentina across the Andes mountains to make regional power grids more secure and support decarbonization, as reported by Newser. However, the proposed path cuts through the central Andes near the Chile-Argentina border, threatening the small mountain streams and wetlands inhabited by the Pehuenche spiny-chest frog.

Biologists and conservationists classify the amphibian as critically endangered. Previous road construction has already damaged its limited natural habitat. Rather than stopping the infrastructure project entirely, conservation groups want the transmission line’s route modified to avoid putting the fragile species at even greater risk, as DiCaprio stated on social media.

Enel Generacion Chile Defends Environmental Review Process

In a statement issued on Aug. 10, Enel Generacion Chile emphasized that the project remains in the environmental assessment stage. The company stated that the transmission link is designed to strengthen electrical integration and improve system security between the two South American nations.

International Pressure and Past Environmental Battles

DiCaprio’s intervention gives the local dispute an immediate international audience just as Chilean authorities weigh the project’s future. This approach mirrors previous high-profile environmental campaigns in the country, though the goals differ. While past efforts sought to cancel large-scale developments like HidroAysén, conservationists in this case are pushing solely for a route adjustment.

The 51-year-old actor previously utilized his social media platform in November 2023 to call for the closure of First Quantum Minerals’ copper mine in Panama. Following that advocacy, Panama’s Supreme Court struck down the law underpinning the mine’s concession later that month, prompting the government to order its closure, according to Bloomberg and Newser.

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