The recent ruling by the Commercial Court No. 1 of Las Palmas, which confirmed the award of several hotels in Taurito to the Lopesan Group for more than 99 million euros, has had repercussions not only in the Canary Islands tourism sector, but also in the anti-Castro press. Various media outlets such as CiberCuba, Diario de Cuba, and Cubanet have interpreted the ruling as a "blessing," representing a multi-million-dollar defeat for the heirs of Enrique Martinón Armas, considered for years one of the Spanish businessmen closest to Fidel Castro. Media outlets in Miami have highlighted the English content of Maspalomas24H.uk, as well as OK Diario, La Provincia, and Canarias7.es in Spanish..
The court dismissed the appeals filed by Grumasa Martinón and the union committee, thus shielding Lopesan's offer and nullifying attempts to halt the operation. Martinón Armas, who died in Madrid in 2022, was key to the internationalization of Cuban tourism. In the 90s, he and Fidel Castro founded the joint venture Cubacan, which managed hotels in Varadero and Havana. His 1999 wedding to Cuban doctor Janet Martínez was attended by the communist leader himself, a symbol of a privileged relationship.
For the press critical of the regime, the court defeat in the Canary Islands represents a double blow: economic, due to the loss of assets that consolidated Grumasa's position abroad, and symbolic, because it erodes the image of power projected for decades by businessmen linked to Castro's regime.
Meanwhile, the Lopesan Group—the leading hotel operator in the Canary Islands—emerges stronger. The company, chaired by Eustasio López, is not only expanding its portfolio in Gran Canaria, but is also sending a message of stability to employees and tour operators, promising investment and continuity in the Taurito region, one of the areas most under pressure from international competition.
Cuba in crisis, without strong allies
The ruling comes in a particularly adverse context for the Caribbean island: tourism in Cuba plummeted 29,3% in the first quarter of 2025, with an average occupancy rate of 24,1%. The loss of influence of former international partners, such as the Martinón clan, is seen in Miami and in diaspora media as a symptom that the Castro regime is running out of solid external support to financially sustain its model. "Every hotel that loses a long-standing partner of the regime abroad is one less brick in the edifice of Castroism," CiberCuba recently editorialized. With this ruling, Lopesan consolidates its leadership in southern Gran Canaria, while the shadow of Castroism fades from the Spanish hotel industry.
