escalating tensions between rival transport groups in the Dominican Republic have thrown the country’s public transportation system into a fresh round of conflict, with the head of one major union leveling serious accusations against a sitting senator who leads a competing organization.
Juan Hubieres, president of the National Federation of Public Transportation Workers (Fenatrano), has publicly charged Senator Antonio Marte, who also leads the National Confederation of Transportation (Conatra), with orchestrating a power grab to seize control of key public transit corridors that are currently operated by Fenatrano-affiliated route holders. At the core of the dispute is a fight over government-authorized route permissions, which are critical for operators to run legal and profitable bus services across the country.
According to Hubieres, Marte has been applying heavy pressure on national transportation authorities to revoke the legally granted operating rights of Fenatrano’s affiliated transport providers. The end goal of this pressure campaign, Hubieres claims, is to clear the way for Conatra to take over additional government-approved transit corridors, expanding Marte’s influence and control over the sector. Beyond the route grab, the Fenatrano leader has also alleged that the senator has received improper benefits through favorable government transportation contracts and access to heavily subsidized fuel. To address these claims, Hubieres is calling for a full, independent investigation into Marte’s business arrangements within the public transportation system.
Hubieres also turned his criticism to the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (Intrant), the country’s top regulatory body for land transport. He specifically called out the recent detention of Fenatrano vehicles operating along the heavily trafficked Mella corridor, arguing that the move directly violates the legally recognized operating rights held by his organization’s members. In an effort to push the regulator back to neutrality, Hubieres has urged Intrant Director Milton Morrison to refrain from aligning with either side in the ongoing conflict and to uphold the rule of law for all transport operators.
In sharp warnings against what he frames as a monopolistic power play, Hubieres stated that Marte is actively working to consolidate full control of the country’s major transit corridors. He made clear that Fenatrano will mount robust opposition to any attempt to displace its affiliated operators and revoke their legally held route rights. Hubieres also pointed to a history of violent conflict within the Dominican transport sector, emphasizing that the aggressive, intimidation-based tactics that marred past disputes must not be allowed to resurface in the current standoff.
The latest public accusations are just the most recent development in a long-running, high-stakes conflict over how public transportation corridors are allocated and managed across the Dominican Republic, with control of these routes translating directly to significant economic and political influence for the groups that hold them.