Trial of four Freemasons in Havana set for November 5

The Diez de Octubre Municipal People's Court set the oral trial of four Cuban Freemasons accused of an illegal foreign-currency transaction for November 5 at 9 a.m. The proceeding concerns an exchange connected with the Llansó National Masonic Home. The hearing will take place in Havana before that municipal court. Prosecutors attribute alleged currency trafficking to the defendants, an accusation to be examined at trial.

The prosecution places the transaction on September 14, 2023. According to its account, José Ramón Viñas Alonso authorized Ángel Santiesteban Prats to deliver 49,600 Cuban pesos in exchange for $200 belonging to the home. Prosecutors seek two to four years of restricted liberty and fines of 20,000 or 25,000 pesos, depending on the defendant. Those are prosecutorial requests, not findings of guilt.

The defendants include Viñas Alonso, who served as sovereign grand commander of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree, and Fernando Marcos García, responsible for accounting at the Llansó National Masonic Home. Santiesteban Prats, to whom prosecutors attribute delivery of the money, is also among them. All four are members of Cuban Freemasonry and will face the municipal court in Havana.

The court admitted testimonial and documentary evidence proposed by the parties. The scheduling appears in an order dated October 29, 2026, which established the hearing's date and time. Preparation therefore includes both types of evidence, to be considered during trial. The prosecution's accusation concerning foreign currency will be subject to judicial examination.

The four defendants remain under house arrest and are prohibited from leaving the country while awaiting the hearing. Prosecutors maintain that the transaction involved money belonging to the Llansó National Masonic Home and seek different penalties, with fines set at one of two amounts. The November 5 trial will allow the court to assess the accusation and admitted evidence before issuing a decision.