Spotlight News 9/06/2016

Tens of thousands of people launched street demonstrations to protest against Brazil’s new president, Michel Temer. The highest concentration of demonstrators marched in Sao Paulo, the country’s largest city, and protest organizers claimed that 50,000 people participated in the rally. Police used various crowd dispersal tactics to break up groups of protesters after clashes occurred near the end of the march. Protesters have demonstrated in Sao Paulo for several days, although the most recent rallies represent some of the largest demonstrations in the country since legislators voted to officially remove Dilma Rousseff from office last week.

Brazil suffers from an Elevated threat of man-made disruptions, such as street protests that can end in violence. The large scale of the latest protests highlights the potential for at least some interruption to the continuity of business operations in the country, especially freight transported on local roadways and particularly in Sao Paulo. Additional protests are likely in the near term.

Authorities in Japan seized 173 kilograms of amphetamine, with a market value of almost $95,730,450, hidden in LED lights that were destined to Japan by a cargo ship originating in Guangzhou, China. After the ship docked at the Port of Tokyo, the drugs were transported to a warehouse in Chiba Prefecture, 30 kilometers southeast of Tokyo. The Japanese authorities arrested three Taiwanese nationals after they were caught transporting five kilograms of the stimulants from the same warehouse. Police said at least four Taiwanese nationals, recruited by a Japanese gang, are involved in the transnational drug-smuggling crime. 

Hurricane Newton made landfall this morning in the Baja Peninsula region of northwestern Mexico, located on the country’s Pacific Coast. The storm caused heavy rainfall, flooding, and some landslides in the northwestern region. From a business continuity perspective, the hurricane most significantly threatened the road freight modality, with rains inundating some roadways. The storm system is not likely to have a major overall supply chain impact, as the affected areas are largely tourist resorts and residential areas but not major cargo shipping hubs. However, local airports closed late last night and authorities barred smaller boats from using ports in the region, highlighting the potential for at least some smaller interruptions to business continuity.