SANTO DOMINGO — Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has finalized a key leadership appointment for the country’s top transportation regulatory body, installing retired Major General Juan Manuel Méndez García as the new executive director of the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (INTRANT). The appointment was formalized through official Decree 551-26.
Born in the small community of Pontón in the central province of La Vega, Méndez García brings a rare cross-disciplinary skill set to the new role, drawing on decades of high-stakes experience across military service, legal practice, and large-scale emergency coordination. Prior to this appointment, he had held two of the nation’s most critical crisis management posts: he has served as the head of the country’s Emergency Operations Center (COE) since 2005, and added the role of director of the Dominican Civil Defense to his portfolio in June 2022.
Méndez García’s 34-year military career with the Dominican Army concluded with his retirement in 2020, capping a tenure that saw him rise to the top rank of major general. Beyond his operational leadership experience, he holds robust academic credentials in law: he earned a doctorate in Law from O&M University, and completed a postgraduate specialization in Civil Law from the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), the nation’s oldest and largest public higher education institution.
Throughout his decades of leading national emergency response, Méndez García has overseen coordinated action for some of the most destructive crises the Caribbean region has faced in recent decades. His resume includes leading the Dominican Republic’s response to a string of devastating Atlantic hurricanes — including Gustav, Hanna, Ike, Olga and Noel — as well as the massive 2010 earthquake that devastated neighboring Haiti, and the global COVID-19 pandemic that put unprecedented strain on the country’s public institutions.
His track record of public service has earned him some of the nation’s highest honors, including the prestigious Juan Pablo Duarte Military Grand Cordon, and a formal presidential commendation recognizing his exceptional work coordinating disaster relief in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.