Mérido Torres assumes the executive direction of the Airport Department
The President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, has formalized the appointment of Mérido de Jesús Torres Espinal to head the Airport Department. The designation, established through Decree 552-26, places Torres Espinal as the main figure in charge of leading the management and development of airport infrastructure in the national territory.
Professional background and experience
Mérido Torres, born in Santo Domingo on June 15, 1966, is a lawyer with an extensive career in the public and private sectors. Before this new role, he held key positions in the State administration, standing out for his work at the Permanent Commission for State Land Titling and the Technical Executing Unit for State Land Titling (UTECT), an entity he joined following his appointment in August 2020.
Your professional profile includes extensive experience in various areas of law and municipal management, among which stand out:
- Deputy Prosecutor of the Court of Appeals of Santo Domingo.
- Legal Consultant of the National District City Hall.
- Municipal Advisor of the San Antonio de Guerra City Hall.
- President of the Dominican Association of Lawyers (ADOMA).
- Co-founder of the law firm Torres Espinal & Asociados.
Public management and background
During his tenure leading the titling projects, Torres spearheaded initiatives aimed at the regularization of state lands, achieving the delivery of more than 53,000 property title certificates to citizens across the country. These actions were supported by records from the Ministry of the Presidency.
In April 2023, the official requested a temporary leave of absence from his duties at UTECT after being publicly linked to the Calamar case. At that time, Torres maintained that his actions were strictly in line with his professional practice as a lawyer and expressed his full willingness to cooperate with the authorities in any investigation process that might be necessary.
Following his departure from the UTECT, where he was replaced on an interim basis by Duarte Méndez Peña, Mérido Torres now resumes a high-level position in the public administration with his arrival at the Airport Department, a strategic agency for the country’s connectivity and development.
