The athlete has another establishment in Havana, Bar 2.45, which has been closed since last year.
14ymedio, Havana, 2 February 2025 — The fall into disgrace of the D’Soto MSME* private company, run by the brother of Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor in Matanzas, has aroused all kinds of opinions in social networks among those who are surprised by the penalization of a “protected” business. The company, which advertises itself as a pizzeria with home deliveries, was recently audited by the National Tax Administration Office (ONAT), which determined that D’Soto owes 8,632,820.88 pesos to the State.
The debt is for “damages caused to public funds. The same public funds that were benefited by more than 10,000,000 with the payment of all taxes, with the efforts of a work group,” says a text posted on Facebook by Dariel Sotomayor Rivero, brother of the sports laureate, in which he expressed his annoyance at the resolution of the ONAT.
However, the MSME’s manager avoids pointing fingers at a state agency. “We talk all the time about the blockade, Trump and the problems of humanity, and never about the crap we do internally. The harm we are doing ourselves: more laws and less work, more problems and less dignity,” denounced the young entrepreneur in the post before concluding: “Neither [is guilty] the system, nor the Government. The issue is the people and, above all, oneself, who decides what to do and where he wants to be.” There was no mention of a fine or other sanction imposed on D’Soto or its administrators other than paying the millions owed to ONAT.
There was no mention of a fine or other sanction imposed on D’Soto or its administrators
Users were quick to respond to the post with both supportive and denouncing comments. “That has only one solution. Leave that country. When you get to know how the world works outside that bubble you will realize that they have been deceiving you for 37 years,” recommended an Internet user with a practical approach, to which another replied: ”He is the brother of one of Cuba’s millionaires. Why is he going to leave? Here they live and enjoy the system’s delicacies.”
D’Soto is a pizzeria founded in 2022, presumably under the ownership of high jump world record holder Javier Sotomayor. Although it started with the sale and delivery of pizzas, the MSME has been incorporating services such as an online marketplace in foreign currency – and which can accept payments from abroad – where it sells everything from pork legs, vegetable oil and beer, to vehicle maintenance items.
Among its suppliers are other private businesses in Matanzas province and the flow of capital even allowed D’Soto to offer a remittance service to Cuba.
In 2023 they were able to obtain a lease from Cimex for the property where El Bodegón, a location belonging to the state-owned El Rápido chain in downtown Matanzas, was situated. After remodeling the store, D’Soto Pizzas opened in February 2024.
In 2023 they were able to obtain a lease from Cimex for the property where El Bodegón, a location belonging to the state-owned El Rápido chain in downtown Matanzas, was situated.
In May of that same year, the MSME obtained permission to open another location at the Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport. “Our young group, led by Dariel Sotomayor Rivero, offers a wide range of products with the principle of providing a service at your level. With the support of Javier Sotomayor, high jump world record holder, the inauguration of this space, located in the cab parking area, took place,” celebrated a company publication at the time.
The athlete owns another famed venue in Havana, Bar 2.45, named after his world record in the high jump and located on 5th Avenue, in Miramar. In 2024, in a cryptic publication on social media in which neither causes nor reasons were mentioned, the administration announced that the place had suffered a temporary closure that rumors soon associated with drug use and prostitution.
To date, the place has not reopened, but its reputation as an exclusive place for the elite remains.
*MSME: “Micro, Small, Medium Enterprise” (mipyme in Cuba). The expectation is that it is also privately managed, but in Cuba this may include owners/managers who are connected to the government.
Translated by LAR
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