The president of the Movimiento Rebelde, infamous transport chieftain Juan Hubieres (Fenatrano), describes as abusive that in the Dominican Republic the cost of fuel be the highest in the Americas, except for Chile and Uruguay. As reported in Hoy, Hubieres, a former deputy for the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), says this is due to “a mafia” that he says the Abinader administration has kept in place, protecting who he says is financing the Haitian gangs, and who is also the owner of the Texaco brand in the country. He warned that the same person is in charge of three high government officials who he says manage the fuel issue.
“Drugs produce less money in this country than the fuel mafia, for which Bigio is responsible and is protected by the government,” said Hubieres. He refers to Gilbert Bigio, the chief executive at the Texaco fuel company here.
Gilbert Bigio is on the Canadian government list of Haitians now impeded to do business in Canada. On 5 December 2022, the government of Canada ordered sanctions against Gilbert Bigio and two other economic elite persons in Haiti, freezing their assets held in Canada. At the time, the government of Canada said: “Canada has reason to believe these individuals are using their status as high-profile members of the economic elite in Haiti to protect and enable the illegal activities of armed criminal gangs, including through money laundering and other acts of corruption.”
Hubieres complained: “…when the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) was in opposition, every week it held press conferences to condemn the same thing they do today, which is to maintain a mafia with the hydrocarbons issue.”
He then went on record saying: “Well, he has Rossy Caamaño as deputy minister in the Ministry of Energy and Mines. In another fuel department of the same institution is, Joan Fernández and as financial advisor he has Pablo Portes. All three are employees of Gilbert Bigio, owner of Texaco.”
At the time of her appointment as deputy minister in August 2020, Caamaño served as regional director for external affairs at GB Energy – Texaco. Pablo Portes was appointed advisor to the President Abinader in August 2020. Joan Fernandez Osorio states he is legal counsel to GB Group on his Linked In page as of 3 May 2023. He is the director of the Department of Regulations, Imports and Use of Hydrocarbons at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, according to the Ministry of Public Administration page.
The former deputy for the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) spoke up before participating in an meeting of pensioned legislators at the National Congress, where he asked the president, Luis Abinader, to dismiss these officials since they create an unfair competition to the sector.
In the Abinader government, the Ministry of Industry & Commerce sets the fuel prices.
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Hoy
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Ministry of Public Administration
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4 May 2023