Cuban Masonry officially elects a new Grand Master at the head of the Grand Lodge.

Cuban Freemasons have officially chosen Mayker Filema Duarte as the new Grand Master, who had been holding the position temporarily since August, after the resignation of Mario Urquía Carreño, in what appears to be the end of the crisis that has plagued the institution for months.

The election took place on Friday, September 20, during the annual and semiannual sessions of the Masonic High Chamber of Cuba.

According to the independent media DIARIO DE CUBA, which collected some testimonies from representatives of various lodges present at the conclaves under anonymity, updated details were provided during the meetings regarding the most recent complaint by the Grand Masonic Lodge of Cuba against former Grand Master Urquía Carreño and former Grand Treasurer Airam Cervera Reigosa for the alleged appropriation of millions of pesos.

One of the attendees explained that, in accordance with Masonic secrecy, he could not provide details of the session, although he shared public information "such as, for example, that the annual session of the High Chamber was held again, because the previous one was annulled by the Ministry of Justice (MINJUS) in a clear intrusion into the internal affairs of Masonry."

This Mason assured that "the semi-annual session of the Most Serene High Chamber was also held on the same day, and in it, Mayker Filema Duarte was elected as the new Most Respectable Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Cuba, who was the acting Grand Master, after the resignation of the thief Mario Urquía was obtained."

"Very pleased, because the Cuban masonry resolved the internal crisis with dignity, despite the interference of the Ministry of Justice and State Security," confessed another representative of a Masonic workshop.

The same person revealed that "we already knew that Urquía was stealing, but during the session, astonishing reports were submitted: Urquía and his accomplice, the former Grand Treasurer, Ayram Cervera, embezzled almost five million pesos from the Grand Lodge."

At the beginning of this month, Filema Duarte, in her capacity as interim Grand Master, reported another alleged theft, in this case of two million Cuban pesos (CUP), which also occurred during the months when the former Grand Master Urquía Carreño was in charge of the institution, during which an additional 19,000 dollars were lost, a fact that was made public at the beginning of this year.

According to Special Circular No. 127, sent to Cuban lodges on September 6 and signed by Grand Master Filema Duarte - a document accessed by Cubanet - between January and August 2024, at least 2,116,555 pesos and 33 cents were illegally withdrawn from the accounts of the Grand Lodge of Cuba.

The discovery took place after Grand Master Filema Duarte ordered a financial audit upon discovering that Cervera had transferred funds from the Grand Lodge to his personal self-employed bank account.

After the discovery, Filema Duarte proceeded to suspend Cervera's Masonic rights and sent him to the Masonic Supreme Court for prosecution.

Days later, Urquía Carreño was arrested by the Cuban police under accusations of fraud against the Grand Lodge of Cuba, in collaboration with the former Grand Treasurer, Cervera Reigosa.

Urquía Carreño had been embroiled in a major controversy for months over the loss of very significant sums of money during his administration at the head of the Grand Masonic Lodge of Cuba.

Urquía reported the first theft as a "disappearance of money from his office" on April 1. He was detained and agreed to return the money in three months, but he did not meet that deadline, and the Cuban Prosecutor's Office took no action against him.

After a resignation around that time, the government reinstated him as Grand Master of the Lodge, generating strong debates, criticisms, and internal controversies within the institution that ultimately led to Urquía's definitive resignation in August.

Currently, both Urquía and Cervera are prohibited from leaving the island, following suspicions that they might attempt to flee abroad with the stolen funds.