The Cuban-American Mario Echevarría stated that he will not pursue his legal battle over Cayo Coco, the tourist destination in northern Cuba for which he claims inherited rights to properties that he alleges were confiscated from his family.
"I already told the family that I’m done," he stated in an interview by Darcy Borrero Batista published by CubaNet on October 12.
Echevarría explained that long legal processes are becoming increasingly difficult for him to face. "At 91, soon to be 92, it's not easy to be in a trial for eight hours," he said. He also acknowledged that, although he maintains mental clarity, he no longer has the same strength to continue litigating.
The lawsuits over the properties of Cayo Coco
The claimant asserts that his family held rights over Cayo Coco, in the province of Ciego de Ávila, before the confiscations carried out by the Cuban regime. Beginning in 2019, he initiated legal actions against Expedia Group, Hotels.com, and Orbitz for marketing bookings at hotels located on land for which he claims ownership.
The claims are based on Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, which allows for the recovery of damages from those who traffic in properties confiscated by the Cuban government. A court ruling from March 2025 addresses both Echevarría's hereditary claim and the objections of the defendant companies.
In April 2025, a federal jury in Miami delivered a verdict in favor of Echevarría, but Judge Federico Moreno overturned it in September of that year, stating that the legal requirements to hold the defendant companies accountable had not been met.
On August 31, 2026, another jury ruled in favor of Expedia in a trial that also involved another Cuban-American claimant. The jury found that the plaintiffs had not sufficiently established their rights to the disputed land, according to CiberCuba's report.
Echevarría does not rule out that his children will continue the family claims. "We have the deeds for Cayo Coco. We have them," he asserted in the interview.
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