The leader of the Cuban Masons who condemned the repression following the historic protests of July 2021 in Cuba (11J) was separated from the Order of Freemasonry for a period of seven years, for alleged violations of internal legislation.
A report from the independent media outlet CubaNet gathered information about what happened with José Ramón Viñas Alonso, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree for the Republic of Cuba, and consulted with members of the order who provided explanations anonymously.
The decision has a murky background that, according to some consulted Freemasons, reveals the increasing involvement of the State Security in Cuban Freemasonry.
After being exonerated in a previous trial held recently, Viñas Alonso was again judged (two days later) under circumstances reported as "irregular," and sentenced to seven years of suspension of Masonic rights.
The ruling contradicts the original ruling signed two days earlier and lacks the relevant stamps and signatures. According to CubaNet, within the Order, Viñas Alonso has become a recognized leader after openly expressing his rejection of the repression following the 11J and then showing his rejection of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the aforementioned media outlet, these critical manifestations against the decisions of the Cuban regime have made Viñas Alonso a target of State Security.
"This new ruling, in which Masonic legislation is violated, after a supposed trial that neither the accused nor the President and Secretary of the Court attended, confirms what several brothers have been warning about, which is the interference of State Security. Probably, this is the biggest one of all, the most blatant in these 65 years of dictatorship," said a high-ranking Mason who requested anonymity for possible reprisals.
In the original sentence that exonerated Viñas Alonso, the judge and the Secretary acknowledged that the process was "being influenced by external agents, which calls into question the actions of the Court and its adherence to the law."
"If we also take into account the blatant violation of the law (...) one realizes that there is an unseen hand at play that is not fraternal, pushing to have the Sovereign removed from the scene," stated the source consulted by CubaNet.
Additionally, the independent media outlet investigated the figure of the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Cuba, Mario Alberto Urquía Carreño, who is acting as the accusing party against Viñas Alonso. According to sources consulted, Urquía Carreño's small and medium-sized enterprise (EDIFICA S.U.R.L) was the subject of an investigation last year, which resulted in the suspension of activities due to "serious violations."
"In the face of the possibility of going to jail, he has preferred to make a deal with the Security," stated another consulted source, adding that Urquía Carreño "is no longer interested in Freemasonry, what he wants is to save his own skin."
The suspicion of being responsible for the theft of 19 thousand dollars from his office on January 5th has been added to the figure of the Grand Master, for which reason the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree decreed his removal from office, of which Viñas Alonso is the Sovereign Grand Commander.
We are facing a war against the repressive apparatus, which wants to get rid of those of us who are uncomfortable to them, because they know that Masons are waking up and are increasingly assuming their commitment to freedom. And the Sovereign is an example of that, thousands support him, that is why they have turned him into a target of their attacks," concluded one of the Masons who provided statements to CubaNet.
Just a few days after the protests on July 11, the Cuban Freemasons sent a letter to the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel. Signed by Viñas Alonso, the letter expressed "rejection of his position and leadership at the helm of the country, for calling, inciting, and ordering a confrontation with violence towards the Cuban people."
The article resulted in State Security summoning Viñas Alonso for an "interview," in which, as it was reported, the officials suggested that he should write a letter about the Cuban vaccines against the coronavirus and "other achievements" of the Castro revolution.
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