- Mayker Filema Duarte calls those who removed him on Sunday “traitors.”
- An inside source claims it was an attempted coup by the Supreme Council against the Grand Lodge.
14ymedio, Havana, May 27, 2025 — In a statement dated Monday, May 26, Mayker Filema Duarte rejected his impeachment as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Cuba (GLC), agreed last Sunday by “a little more than one hundred” Masons on the island. During an extraordinary assembly, the Upper House – one of the most important judicial authorities of the fraternity – decided to dismiss him by a unanimous vote, accusing him of holding onto his office and acting with the support of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). In his place, Juan Alberto Kessel Linares was provisionally appointed until the general elections, scheduled for September.
In his text, Filema described what happened as an illegal and illegitimate act. He also said that the call made by Kessel and the president of the High Academy of Masonic Studies, Manuel Valdés-Menéndez Cuesta, constitutes a “grotesque violation of everything sacred,” as well as “another media blow and discredit to the image of our GLC before the profane world.”
He added that “once again the image of the GLC was wounded in its pride in public view by actions of traitors to their oaths of discretion and respect for our laws.” In addition, he compared the situation with what happened recently in the Dominican Republic, when, he said, the Supreme Council of Grade 33 separated itself in order to operate autonomously. In Cuba, the Supreme Council, chaired by José Ramón Viñas, who is critical of the regime, has repeatedly denounced the infiltration of State Security into the Grand Lodge, which threatens a schism.
“We will not leave the destinies of the institution to the whims of one man and a group of his followers”
“We will not give in to unconstitutional pressures,” he said. “We have avoided war, and peace has been denied to us, but we will purge all impurity in our institution,” he added, and “we will not leave the destinies of the institution to the whims of one man and a group of his followers.”
Filema had canceled the Upper House meeting scheduled for May 25, citing personal threats. Despite his absence and that of his officials, the representatives decided to proceed with the meeting and voted for his dismissal. Now they await the position of the Registry of Associations, a state entity responsible for regulating compliance with the statutes of associations in Cuba. This office, which has intervened several times in the Masonic crisis since last year, has been called a tool of the regime to meddle in the internal affairs of fraternal and religious institutions.
According to data provided by an internal source, there are currently 327 lodges in the country and a total of 48,000 members. Of these, only about 20,000 remain within the island, representing an exodus of more than 50% of registered Masons.
Due to the institution’s own hermeticism, the internal conflicts that Freemasonry has been going through since 2020, as well as the State Security maneuvers to control its membership, it is difficult to get an objective view of what is really happening. The emblematic building on Carlos III Avenue, headquarters of the GLC, is guarded by security forces and a patrol from the special brigade of the Ministry of the Interior. In addition, there were reports of internet cuts in the surrounding areas.
A source, who asked for anonymity, says: “What has happened is an attempted coup. There are two bodies in conflict: the Grand Lodge of Cuba and the Supreme Council of Grade 33. And although everyone is talking about politics, here the background is more profane. It is true that the regime has always wanted to destroy Freemasonry or at least control it. They must be enjoying themselves now, from the stands, watching us destroy ourselves.”
“There is another detail that nobody talks about,” adds the source, “it is no coincidence that every time the protests in Cuba break out, a scandal like this appears to divert attention.”
Filema rose in the Masonic hierarchy to occupy the position of Deputy Grand Master under the administration of Mario Urquía Carreño. After the resignation of Urquía in August 2024, amid a scandal over the disappearance of 19 million pesos, Filema temporarily assumed leadership of the GLC. His official appointment as Grand Master took place in September of the same year, during the annual sessions of the Upper Chamber.
Filema denounced the financial irregularities of the previous administration, including the embezzlement of millions of Cuban pesos
During his administration, Filema denounced the financial irregularities of the previous administration, including the embezzlement of millions of Cuban pesos. These actions were interpreted by some as an attempt to restore the integrity of the institution and by others as a threat. According to one of the sources consulted, “this was the trigger for the new schism between the GLC and the Supreme Council.”
Filema’s refusal to call elections and his endorsement by the Ministry of Justice – in particular by the director of associations, Miriam García – raised suspicions about his closeness to the regime. Some Freemasons and external observers accuse him of being a figure imposed by the Office of Religious Affairs of the PCC’s Central Committee, which “has compromised the autonomy of Cuban masonry.”
Another source interviewed comments: “It has become common in Cuba that we all accuse ourselves of being agents of State Security. In the case of Filema, I think it’s nonsense. He is the son of political prisoners and had a very difficult childhood. Those of us who have been close know that he does not have a favorable opinion of the regime. But when you have a responsibility like his, you are obliged to deal with them.”
“They have only one goal: to divide us”
“We have to see how the regime will play it. And Filema’s enemies are going to use any support he receives to shore up their speech about him. But it is naive to think that the regime really ’supports’ one figure or another. No, man, no! They have only one goal: to divide us. And they use our own conflicts, our egos and even our rejection of the regime to create suspicion and make us fight among ourselves,” he concludes.
However, it is undeniable that Filema does not enjoy sympathy within a considerable number of Cuban Masons. Opinions against him are piling up. One of his fraternity brothers commented to 14ymedio: “It was Miriam García herself, a Ministry of Justice official, who proposed postponing the date to the 25th. Some replied that this was interference. Then she said ’they’ wanted to ’help with the transport’ to bring in the Masons. Filema used alleged vandalism as an excuse to suspend the meeting, which was shown last Sunday not to be true. He does not want to give up power because State Security is telling him not to.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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