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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – A new chapter began for the country’s national transportation governance on Monday, as retired Major General Juan Manuel Méndez García was sworn in as the new executive director of the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (INTRANT).

Méndez García’s appointment was formalized through Decree 551-26, issued by Dominican President Luis Abinader. In his first public remarks after taking office, the new director emphasized that tackling the nation’s persistent traffic and transportation challenges will not be a quick fix, requiring coordinated effort across multiple levels of government, private transport service operators, and the general public.

During the official swearing-in ceremony, Méndez García laid out his core policy priorities: he committed to retaining and expanding the successful, results-driven programs launched by his predecessor while implementing targeted improvements where gaps exist. Beyond institutional adjustments, he called for a nationwide cultural shift around road safety, urging all road users to embrace compliance with traffic regulations as a fundamental civic duty.

In addition to his new role at INTRANT, Méndez García confirmed he will continue leading the Directorate of Out-of-Hospital Emergency Care Services (DAEH). He brings decades of high-stakes public leadership experience to the transportation post, having previously served more than 20 years at the helm of the country’s Emergency Operations Center (COE), where he coordinated national responses to countless disasters and public emergencies.

Eduardo Estrella, the Minister of Public Works and Communications, who administered the oath of office to Méndez García, praised the new director’s long track record of dedicated public service. Estrella reaffirmed that the full support of the Abinader administration will be behind Méndez García as he undertakes the challenges of his new position.

Outgoing INTRANT executive director Milton Morrison extended well wishes to his successor, noting that the agency is being transferred in far stronger institutional shape than when he took office two years prior. During Morrison’s tenure, INTRANT achieved a series of major milestones, including sweeping overhauls of internal procedures and institutional governance, as well as three ISO certifications covering quality management, anti-bribery systems, and regulatory compliance.

On a Monday official ceremony held at the Dominican Republic’s National Palace in Santo Domingo, President Luis Abinader officially swore in a slate of newly appointed top leaders across the country’s military, police and presidential security apparatuses.

The high-profile inauguration event covered seven key senior positions spanning the nation’s armed forces and national law enforcement. Beyond the top commanders of the Army and Air Force, and the new director general of the National Police, the ceremony also formalized the appointments of the new Inspector General of the Armed Forces, the Deputy Minister of Defense for Military Affairs, the chief of the Presidential Security Corps (known locally by its Spanish acronym Cusep), and the commander of the Presidential Guard Regiment.

All appointments were formalized through Decree 557-26, which was issued by the presidency on August 16. The official order named General Enmanuel Marcelino Souffront Tamayo to the post of Air Force Commander General, Major General Jimmy Arias Grullón as the new Army Commander General, and General Rafael Ernesto Rodríguez García to lead the National Police as its director general.

Completing the roster of new senior appointees, the decree appointed Major General Jorge Iván Camino Pérez as Inspector General of the Armed Forces, Major General Delio Buenaventura Colón Rosario as Deputy Minister of Defense for Military Affairs, Brigadier General Guillermo Caro Cruz as head of Cusep, and Brigadier General Rafael Raimundo Ramírez Tejeda as commander of the Presidential Guard Regiment. This leadership reshuffle updates the top command of the Dominican Republic’s core national security institutions, aligning the command structure with the administration’s current governance priorities.

In a landmark ruling that brings to a close a nearly 70-year-long contractual relationship between the Dominican government and mining operator Falconbridge Dominicana (Falcondo), the nation’s Superior Administrative Court (TSA) has formally revoked the company’s concession contracts for the Quisqueya I mining site. The sprawling concession spans 22,392 hectares of land across the La Vega and Monseñor Nouel provinces, making its termination one of the most significant mining sector legal decisions in recent Dominican history.

The TSA’s Second Chamber handed down the final ruling on August 12, responding to a legal challenge first filed in July 2025 by the Patrimonial Fund of Reformed Companies (FONPER), which brought the action on behalf of the Dominican State. The original lawsuit outlined multiple serious violations of the concession agreement, including breaches related to mining operation protocols, unmet economic and labor obligations, and a consistent failure to submit mandatory technical reports required under Dominican national mining law.

Court documents confirm multiple key findings that underpinned the final decision. First, operations at the Quisqueya I site have been completely halted since November 17, 2023. In addition to this prolonged shutdown, the court documented that Falcondo failed to turn in required semiannual operational progress reports for 2023, 2024, and 2025, and also neglected to submit mandatory annual operational reports for the 2023 and 2024 calendar years.

The TSA emphasized that the violations cut to the core of the concession agreement’s essential obligations. Specifically, the contract requires the concession holder to actively and effectively exploit the licensed mineral resources, and to maintain consistent, transparent communication with government regulators by updating them on all mining activities. After reviewing the evidence, the court determined that the extended period of inactivity and accumulated serious violations provided clear justification for terminating the contracts, and rejected all counterarguments from Falcondo that sought to dismiss the state’s case.

The court’s decision arrives against a backdrop of already widespread economic and labor disruption stemming from Falcondo’s operational shutdown. In 2024 alone, more than 900 workers were laid off from the company. Former employees whose original contracts were set to run through March 2026 have reported that the company owes them approximately 300 million Dominican pesos in unpaid wages and benefits. Local contractors, suppliers, and small businesses operating in Monseñor Nouel have also reported massive unpaid bills and significant economic losses tied directly to the company’s closure.

Notably, the TSA ruling is legally separate from Falcondo’s ongoing commercial restructuring process, which is being carried out under the Dominican Republic’s Law 141-15 on the Restructuring and Liquidation of Companies and Individual Merchants. That restructuring proceeding, which was initiated by the company’s creditors, will continue as an independent legal process to resolve Falcondo’s outstanding debts and remaining liabilities.