Ramón Zapata Perez, the founder, primary shareholder and chairman of Compañia Hondureña de Tabacos, the parent company of Kuuts, LLC, has announced that he is leaving the company.

Zapata posted a message to his personal Facebook page on Friday saying that today is a very sad day for him as he has had to “abandon a project which I put high hopes, efforts and all my passion into.”

In a message of certainty, he says “Hoy me he desvinculado absolutamente del proyecto,” or that “today I am absolutely detached from the project.” He goes onto say that his departure was voluntary and not some sort of lucrative exit, rather that he has “paid a high economic and sentimental price” as a result.

While only recently being introduced into the U.S. market, Compañia Hondureña de Tabacos has been in operation for some 17 years, with a factory in Danlí, Honduras and a distribution company in Spain. Zapata’s name was used for one the company’s four main lines, Tabacalera Zapata. The company also distributes the Miró, Placeres Reserva and Kuuts lines in the U.S.

Representatives from Kuuts, LLC did not immediately return a request for comment, and a message to Zapata has yet to be answered.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.