Miguel Cedrón, the Cuban who went viral after expelling Venezuelan actress Norkys Batista, along with her husband, son, and brother, from his store in Hialeah, has explained his side of the incident, which was also captured by the establishment's security cameras.
"They came to rent, and the policy of my shop, which I set because it is my shop and I don't have space for a whole family to rent a vehicle here... I explained to them that due to security reasons and limited space, there could only be one customer in the store, and there were like four or five of them," Miguel explained in statements to the TikToker "Pipozarek."
Cedrón explained that he has many Venezuelan friends and that he holds no grievances against the citizens of that country in general.
"If you act stupidly, whether you are Cuban, Venezuelan, Chinese, or Russian, I will throw you out of the store, and if I tell you to leave, you have to go," he stated.
Miguel Cedrón explained that he was offended, and that once they were outside the premises, they started recording and escalating the situation further.
He reported that he left a long message in the comments section of one of the family's posts on Instagram.
According to what can be inferred from Cedrón's statements, at the time the incident occurred, he did not know that it involved a Venezuelan artist, but he mentions that he is now considering sending the video of what happened to Telemundo, so they know who they are hiring.
Previously, a video showed how the discussion unfolded inside the establishment.
In the images shared on the popular Instagram account Only in Dade, the store owner can be heard telling those present inside to wait outside for a moment, assuring them that he would call them shortly.
"Boy, boy, I'm telling you again, I said to wait outside," the Cuban said to the actress's husband, who was standing a few meters away, while she was at the counter completing the car rental process.
"No, no, he is my husband and he is with me," the upset actress said, and immediately afterward the Cuban responded by telling them to leave.
"No, ma'am, look, they're not going to rent anything, you can leave," the Cuban responded; while Norkys Batista's husband replied angrily, "You're just a blockhead."
Although the woman insisted that they needed the car, the Cuban threw them off his property.
The video from the surveillance camera serves as a precursor to other footage recorded by the individuals involved at the entrance of the establishment, where the owner can be heard repeatedly informing those affected of their expulsion from the premises.
“The damn Venezuelans are leaving Hialeah. They're all leaving here. They’re leaving this place; this is my property,” the man exclaimed, addressing the actress, her husband, her brother, and her son.
In the comments section of Only in Dade, over three thousand remarks reflect a divide between those who believe the Cuban exercised his right of admission as the owner of the establishment and those who think his behavior was excessive.
Others describe the reaction staged by the Venezuelan actress as "theater," claiming that the owner of the venue had pushed her brother.
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