Supreme Council of Freemasonry in Cuba expels Grand Master following theft of 19 thousand dollars

The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Cuba refuses to comply with the expulsion.

Mario Alberto Urquía Carreño, Gran Maestro de la Gran Logia de Cuba © Redes sociales
Mario Alberto Urquía Carreño, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of CubaPhoto © Social media

The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Cuba, Mario Alberto Urquía Carreño, would have been expelled from his position following the scandal generated by the theft of $19,000 from his office on January 5, as reported by the independent media Cubanet.

The expulsion was decreed by the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree for the Republic of Cuba, precise the information from the independent media that had access to the document certifying it.

"We decree the Expulsion from the Rite, of the Grand Inspector General of the Order Mario Alberto Urquía Carreño, 33, given the serious behaviors analyzed, which are a clear demonstration of betrayal by failing the oath and loyalty pledged to the fundamental principles of this Supreme Council," reads the decree signed by the Sovereign Grand Commander José Ramón Viñas Alonso, after a unanimous vote of the High Chamber.

The structure of Freemasonry in Cuba is divided between the Grand Lodge and the Supreme Council. While the former is in charge of the symbolic degrees, the council is responsible for the philosophical degrees, explains Cubanet.

Likewise, the two powers of the structure are linked by a Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Recognition that requires any sanction issued by one of the instances to be complied with by the other.

Therefore, Urquía Carreño has the duty to accept the expulsion and the elections of the Grand Lodge would be called for next March.

The Council's document also denounces that "there have been quite a few attacks that, from his position as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Cuba, he began to carry out against the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree for the Republic of Cuba, maliciously and repeatedly distorting not only the focus on the main issue but also the narrative of the events in a public manner."

In addition, he maintains that Urquía Carreño lied in a very bad way "on more than one occasion to the person of the Very Powerful Sovereign Grand Commander of the 33rd Degree for the Republic of Cuba regarding the way in which the events occurred, the subsequent discovery, and his real intentions."

Urquía Carreño's response, as reported by Cubanet, has been to order that the Sovereign Grand Commander and President of the Board, José Ramón Viñas Alonso, be judged by the Supreme Masonic Court of the Grand Lodge of Cuba.

The document warns that the Grand Master's response has violated a centuries-old oath and caused an unprecedented Masonic schism in Cuba.

The report from Cubanet suggests, on its part, that the Grand Master could be operating as a key figure for State Security, which is seeking the expulsion of the Sovereign Grand Commander, José Ramón Viñas, following his support for the social upheaval on July 11, 2021.

In any case, during the session of the High Chamber of the Grand Lodge in March, the Grand Master must be held accountable and the lodges of the country can annul his decrees or decree his expulsion.

Several lodges in the country have already requested the removal of the Grand Master, concludes the report.

In mid-January, Urquía Carreño had issued a statement regarding the theft of the money under his custody, which belonged to the Llansó National Masonic Asylum.

In the extensive document, in which she detailed the chronology of events, she ruled out resigning from her position and expressed her dissatisfaction with the proceedings that were followed in the extraordinary meeting of the Board of Trustees where the issue was discussed.

At the extraordinary meeting on January 10 with the Board of Trustees, he assured that initially most of the brothers understood that the theft of the money was a despicable act and beyond their will, and committed to replacing the money.

Mario Alberto Urquía, however, was reluctant to report to the police because he believed that such a significant amount of money "should not be outside the bank," and also because public knowledge of what had happened would discredit the institution.

However, the collective agreement was to issue a public statement reporting what happened and file the corresponding complaint with the PNR.

Urquía Carreño complained that while he was filing the complaint at the Zanja unit with the Grand Treasurer, VH Ángel Santisteban Prats, and Antonio Fernández Pérez, he received the news that the statement had already been drafted in his absence, which he described as a "blatant violation of the agreement."

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