Asturias and Chile mourn a remarkable figure: Juan Cueto Sierra, a son of Asturias who rose to become one of South America’s most influential businessmen. He passed away last Saturday at his home in Santiago de Chile at the age of 94. The founder of a business group that would eventually include Latam Airlines, Latin America’s largest carrier, Cueto Sierra left a lasting mark on the region’s corporate landscape. Today his family leads the holdings he built. Those who knew him describe him as a compassionate, straightforward, generous, and kind person, with many recalling that he had a certain endearing charm. His career earned him numerous honors, including the Asturian of the Month award in August 2010 from La Nueva España, the Asturias Favorite Son honor, and the Álvarez Margaride distinction from the Government of the Principality in September 2011, as well as recognition from the APQ association in June 2013 for his lifelong contributions to Asturias.
Juan Cueto Sierra’s life story blends sorrow with notable achievement. He was born in Colunga in 1929 and left Spain at age seven to flee the Civil War with his family. After a brief period in France, the family settled in Chile, where Cueto would spend the rest of his days. His father, Enrique Cueto Llada, had served as mayor of Colunga during the Second Republic and, despite having the chance to stay, chose to leave the country. He was later arrested and executed by Franco’s forces in 1939.
Prosperity did not come easily in Chile. As Jorge Hevia, the Spanish ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Cueto Sierra’s second nephew, recalled, success required hard work and humble beginnings. Creating wealth became Cueto Sierra’s great passion and a constant challenge that defined his approach to business.
Cueto began by running a bar and a leather goods factory, then ventured into the casino scene before acquiring a small cargo airline. From that point, he built a substantial business complex. An economic crisis of the early 1980s left him with a fragile airline operation, yet he managed to rebuild and scale his enterprise into a formidable group. The pinnacle of his entrepreneurial journey arrived with the merger of Lan Chile, which he acquired in the 1990s, with the Brazilian carrier Tam to form Latam. Today Latam stands among the world’s leading airlines by passenger volume.
María Calvo, president of the Federation of Asturian Entrepreneurs, spoke of Cueto Sierra as a great businessman and a shining example of talent and success in every project he undertook. She noted his substantial contribution to Asturian business interests and his willingness to open doors for Latin American growth, especially in Chile. Calvo highlighted his long leadership of the Asturian businessmen’s association in Chile and his extensive collaboration with FADE to foster firm ties between Asturias and Latin America.
Javier Vega de Seoane, who leads Gestlink and DKV Seguros and who also summers in Colunga, described Cueto Sierra as a phenomenon and a wonderful, humble figure whose simplicity stood out. He recalled moments shared over coffee in a Colunga bar, illustrating how a prominent entrepreneur could appear as a down-to-earth neighbor. According to Vega de Seoane, conversations with Cueto Sierra conveyed a sense that his achievements were mostly the result of the work of his team, his children, and trusted partners rather than solitary triumphs. He concluded with a prayer for divine blessing on Cueto Sierra’s lasting contributions.
Colunga’s mayor, José Ángel Toyos, noted that Cueto Sierra served as a clear reference for the town. Toyos highlighted a bright and successful business trajectory and emphasized Cueto Sierra’s enduring ties to Colunga, describing him as kind, simple, and endearing. The mayor also pointed to Cueto Sierra’s generous support for the local community, including sponsorship of the Colunga church clock’s maintenance and financing for local publications such as the Blue Book of Colunga, which represented a meaningful donation to the municipality and its senior care initiatives.
Carlos Manso, secretary of the Santa María de Sábada Fishermen’s Guild in Lastres, recalled a neighborhood effort years ago to honor Cueto Sierra in Colunga. One of the early backers was Eduardo Hevia, a respected elder and honorary president of Spain’s internal auditors, who also served as Spain’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. While the initiative did not come to fruition, Manso underscored that Cueto Sierra remained Colunga’s strongest ambassador in Latin America and a trusted, approachable figure within the local council, even if his stature abroad seemed larger than his local standing at times.