HAVANA, Cuba – After more than six months of silence, the Grand Master (GM) of the Grand Lodge of Cuba (GLC), Mario Alberto Urquía Carreño, spoke out on Friday regarding the controversy in Cuban Freemasonry following the theft of $19,000 from his office and his subsequent expulsion from the Order.
In a video circulated in Masonic groups and to which Cubanet had access, Urquía Carreño made reference to the theft of money belonging to the National Masonic Asylum, his expulsion from the Order by the Supreme Council, the Semiannual Session of the High Chamber of the GLC on March 24, of which He was expelled shouting “Get out traitor, thief and coward”as well as theFreemasons protest outside their GLC office on 23 July.
Until now, Mario Urquía had only issued official statements, circulated in internal Masonic groups. This is the first statement in which he shows his face, something he did not even do when on July 23 around two hundred Masons protested for more than three hours outside his office in the GLC and demanded to see him to ask for his resignation.
“This Grandmaster had to make this video because the attack is already too much,” he said.
On the theft of money
Regarding the alleged robbery in his officewhich occurred at the beginning of January of this year, Urquía Carreño only says that he wants to clarify a police document that was made public at the end of JulyThis is an agreement signed by Urquía on April 1 at the Picota police station, in which he agreed to return the money within a period of three months.
If he does not comply with the agreement, Mario Urquía would be placed at the disposal of the Prosecutor’s Office to be prosecuted. This would be proof that, contrary to what Urquía and the Ministry of Justice (MIJNUS) say, he has not been exonerated of responsibility.
However, Mario Urquía responded that both in the document issued by the MINJUS at the beginning of June (invalidating his expulsion from Freemasonry and clarifying that he had been exonerated by the police) as in the Meeting held by Caridad Diego with the Masons On August 1, it became clear that “this grandmaster had no responsibility for the theft or the safekeeping of the money.”
This document “simply” states that “I maintain the commitment to the Asylum and to my brothers to be able to return that money, but not because of a problem of responsibility or guilt in that act.”
Regarding the reason for not having paid the money in March, as initially agreed, he indicated that when he was summoned to the police unit he was warned that it should be done once the investigations were completed and its origin had to be legal.
“We had to be careful with the country’s laws and not engage in any kind of currency trading: buying it outside, as we Cubans call it; this stopped any action that could be taken. I want to tell the brothers that at this time it has not been possible to do so because the authorities say that the money must be replaced at the exchange rate in CUP, that is, at a rate of 120 pesos (in the informal market it is at 320 pesos) and that automatically brings losses,” he explained.
Regarding the initial statement from the Board of Trustees of the National Masonic Asylum announcing the alleged theft, the GM maintains that it was “incriminating.”
Shortly after filing the complaint, she claims to have made a deposit of 270,000 CUP at the Asilo, the equivalent of 1,000 USD.
“Negative publicity”
According to Mario Urquía, everything that has happened so far is a plot by Masons against him and “aggressive negative publicity.”
This has led to his business, a construction SME, incurring significant losses, making it impossible for him to repay the money.
However, as has been confirmed CubanetUrquía’s SME has been paralyzed for more than a year due to an investigation by the authorities in which several irregularities were found.
Regarding the publication by some independent media outlets and social media profiles of news about these controversies, he says that “we totally repudiate them” because “this violates all the oaths that have been made by us not to expose our internal affairs on social media or to the profane world. Only one thing has been pursued and that is the discredit of Freemasonry in Cuba and of this Grand Master.”
On his expulsion
At the end of January, less than a month after the alleged robbery in his office, the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree for the Republic of Cuba (the one that governs degrees 4 to 33), Mario Urquía being 33rd degree of the Order, He expelled them on the grounds of high treason against their oaths and loyalty.
By virtue of the Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Recognition between the Grand Lodge and the Supreme Council, the former must abide by the same sanction.
In this regard, Urquía alleges that Masonic legislation was violated and that it constitutes interference by the Supreme Council in the affairs of the Grand Lodge (which governs degrees 1 to 3).
According to the GM, both his expulsion from the Upper House session on March 24 and the protest outside his office on July 23 were orchestrated by the Supreme Council.
“This is a loss of sovereignty for the Grand Lodge of Cuba and is one of the most important points that could mark an irregularity for the Grand Lodge,” he said.
Protest at the GLC
On July 23, around 200 Masons met They gathered at the building of the Grand Lodge of Cuba to demand that Mario Urquía resign from office.
Regarding this event, Urquía Carreño said that “they were supposedly there to hold a peaceful protest on the ground floor of the building and ended up on the 11th floor with the press publishing live, discrediting, trying to discredit Cuban Freemasonry live for the world. And Freemasons responding (…) and we know that we do not discuss these types of internal matters (…) with any person who is not a member of our institution.”
Therefore, for him, the laws were violated. “This Grand Master will receive all the brothers he has to receive as long as he complies with the law; under the pressure of many brothers in an attempt to force it, this will not be done,” he added.
He also assured that he would “soon” call a meeting with representatives of the lodges, which all Masons who wish to do so may attend, in order to “resolve any doubts that any brother may have.”
Masons think
Cubanet consulted several Masons to find out their impressions of Mario Urquía’s statements. They all requested anonymity.
“In my opinion, this is false, he wrote this to continue demoralizing Freemasonry,” said one.
Another commented ironically: “I had to stop watching the video because I realized that it is not his fault, that it is our fault for being distrustful and that he has not handed over the money because of the Government, because the handover has to be done at the police station in front of the investigating officer who is handling the case, but the money has to be legal, it cannot be bought outside and, if it is bought in CUP, it is at a rate of 120 and so the Asilo loses money. Wow, if I keep listening to it, when the video ends I was the one who stole the money. Oh, and the MINJUS exonerates him of guilt in the robbery and of responsibility in custody; I don’t know what to do anymore, whether to run or hide.”
One of the sources consulted said that officials from the MINJUS and the Office for Attention to Fraternal and Religious Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba “are provoking an internal confrontation where they can justify the intervention and appear as saviors before international public opinion.”
“If anything was clear to us, it was that after 7 months of silence and passivity, waiting for them to take their hands off Freemasonry, they reacted to what happened on July 23, because otherwise they have already shown that they are not interested in those they consider their subjects. This game of chess is complicated. We are playing with a team of professionals who do not even show their faces. And when they do, they are victims, innocent, and they even try to show that they support us,” he added.
For another Mason, Urquía has only given one more example of his “shamelessness and desperation.”
“I felt like I was being manipulated throughout the video, given the underestimation and lack of appreciation for the Masons. It was like a spider web with a javelin. If life has taught me anything, it is that fools and scammers think they are superior. That is a trait that distinguishes them,” he said.
“Clear and precise answer,” said another Mason, “those whom you call your brothers do not want you in their house, hand over, pick up and go.”
Several people pointed out that this response should have been given to his brothers who knocked on the door of his office in the GLC for more than three hours on July 23 and were ignored.
At the moment, more than half of the lodges in the country (about 300) do not recognize Mario Urquía Carreño as Grand Master, even refusing to comply with his decrees. Evidence of this is that both the lodges and the Masons he suspended continue to work normally.
In September, Mario Urquía will hold the Semiannual Session of the Upper House, where the Masons will have to decide, once and for all, whether he will remain as Grand Master or take the reins of the fraternity.
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