The Cuban singer Amaury Gutiérrez and his manager, Yasir Pérez, made statements upon their arrival in Miami this Wednesday after having been held for 24 hours at the Cartagena Airport in Colombia.
"With the communists, I always get aggressive, I can't help it, no one is going to make me feel insecure," were Amaury's first words to the press gathered at Miami Airport.
"They didn't want to let my manager in, and they didn't want to let me in either because there was a exchange of words, so I raised my voice a little, not much, but they got furious when I told them, 'you treat me just like you're a communist.' That's when they got furious, they got angry and told me 'now you can't come in either, and we're going to put you in jail,'" the artist recounted.
"I think they are exaggerating, their response was too exaggerated," he replied when questioned about his reaction that Migración Colombia described in a statement as "abrupt and altered."
"You behave like a communist because you are mistreating people here. I know that you are an immigration agent, I owe you all my respect, but don't treat me badly. I've gone through here a thousand times," he says he told the agent in question.
When asked if what happened might have a political background, he replied: "I don't know," although he says he wouldn't be surprised either.
"I always think poorly. I have no doubt that they were watching us and laughing at us, the people from G2, I do not doubt it," he pointed out. He criticized that they were made to sleep in a room where there were no basic conditions and says they went many hours without even being given water.
"I have lived a kind of political prison of 24 hours," Amaury stated in his declaration, published in full by Cubanet on YouTube.
The singer-songwriter insisted that it is the first time in his career that something like this has happened to him and questioned whether Colombia is now the same country it was before.
"It's the first time this has happened to me, what is happening in Colombia? Is it the same country as before? That's my question. It had never happened to me; I am a Gold Record in Colombia. In Colombia, there are artists who have recorded my songs and have won Grammys with my songs. There, people adore me; they have only shown me affection... Never this kind of treatment," he affirmed.
He clarified that he sends all his respect to Colombia and to Colombians.
His manager, Yasir Pérez, took the opportunity to clarify that he did have his valid U.S. passport with him.
"If I hadn't shown this passport here, at Miami International Airport, I wouldn't have been able to leave. So, they contradict themselves," he said regarding the argument about the documentation put forth by Migration Colombia.
The musician and his manager took the opportunity to communicate that the only person who faced them was a representative from American Airlines.
Amaury Gutiérrez said that there were attempts by a Colombian artist to intercede so that they could enter the country, but the attempt was unsuccessful. The artist does not lose hope of being able to give concerts in Colombia in the near future.
What does Migration Colombia say?
The Colombian Migration Authority issued an official statement recounting what happened with the Cuban singer Amaury Gutiérrez and his manager Yasir Pérez on the morning of Wednesday, when both were denied entry into the South American nation for different reasons.
The report indicates that the incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. at the Migratory Control Post of Rafael Núñez Airport in Cartagena following the arrival of flight 1145 from American Airlines, on which the artist and his manager arrived.
The official notice states that Yasir Pérez “during the immigration control process, and in the validation of his identification documents, did not present the required documents for entry into the country, for which reason the official of Migración Colombia applied the immigration regulations established by the Colombian state and denied the traveler entry.”
The statement adds that at that moment "the American citizen Amaury Gutiérrez abruptly and disruptively interrupted the procedure, and stated in a defiant and loud voice his intention to accompany Pérez in case he was denied entry."
The version from the immigration authority states that Amaury Gutiérrez "violently threw his passport and displayed an intimidating attitude while attempting to leave through the entrance door, which required the intervention of airport security personnel and support from the National Police."
"This provocative behavior from Gutiérrez created a tense situation with the officers present at the control, who felt the need to intervene to maintain order," the text adds.
As a result, Yasir Pérez was inadmitted, according to Article 70 of "Inadmission or rejection" of the current migration regulations, due to the lack of appropriate documentation for his identification; while the Cuban singer was inadmitted for what they described as "disturbing and disrespectful behavior."
In the final segment, the statement clarified that a third person traveling with them was informed that they could enter the country "as their documentation was in order and they were not involved in the incident."
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