Univision interviewed a man Tuesday who claims that he had a sexual relationship with Omar Mateen for two months, and that the shooter frequented Pulse because he was attracted to Latino men.
"He adored Latinos, gay Latinos, with brown skin -- but he felt rejected. He felt used by them -- there were moments in the Pulse nightclub that made him feel really bad. Guys used him. That really affected him," said the man, identified only as "Miguel." "I believe this crazy horrible thing he did -- that was revenge."
The man wore a disguise while appearing on TV. He told Univision that Mateen, who left 49 victims dead at Pulse and 53 wounded, many of whom were Puerto Rican, held a grudge against Puerto Ricans because he felt "used" by them. Miguel claims Mateen once told him that he had sex with a man who waited until after they had intercourse to notify him that he was HIV-positive.
Mateen became paranoid that he had HIV, claimed Miguel. "I asked him, 'Did you do a test?' Yes. He went to the pharmacy and did the test ... it came out negative but it doesn't come out right away. It takes four, five months," Miguel told Univision.
"When I asked him what he was going to do now, his answer was 'I'm going to make them pay for what they did to me,'" said Miguel.
Miguel said he met Mateen on a gay dating site and the two quickly became "friends with benefits." Miguel described Mateen as "a very sweet guy" who "loved to be cuddled." "He was looking for love," said Miguel. The man said he was "stunned" when he heard about the shooting at Pulse because he never saw a violent side to Mateen.
Miguel claims that he met with Mateen at least 15 to 20 times but never knew his name. He only knew that Mateen was a 35-year-old married man with a child. The two last met in December, and Miguel contended that Mateen's wife knew that her husband was "100 percent" gay and that their marriage was a cover for his sexuality.
The man reported that Mateen expressed resentment over his dad's views on LGBT people. He says Mateen's father believed that "gay people [are] the devil and gay people have to die."
Miguel told Univision that he's spoken with the FBI three times. Univision reported that the FBI confirmed to them that the agency had met with Miguel. But the FBI's lead investigator said Monday that "those allegations are still being vetted out as we speak and there's no determination to be made at this time." Attorney General Loretta Lynch, in a news conference today, wouldn't confirm reports that Mateen had frequented other gay bars in the area.
Mateen has been the subject of a lot of speculation over his sexual orientation. A man told MSNBC's Chris Hayes last week that he'd seen Mateen on Grindr. Another man told the Los Angeles Times a similar story and said he'd turned over his phone to the FBI. Yet another man, a former classmate, told The Palm Beach Post that Mateen had once asked him out. Three men in Fort Pierce, Fla., Mateen's hometown, told The Advocate that they'd recognized Mateen from Grindr. But in none of those cases did the men claim to have had a sexual relationship with Mateen.
Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas asked him directly, "Why should I trust that you aren't lying to me or the FBI?"
"It's my responsibility as a citizen of the United States and a gay man," he told Salinas.
Watch the interview in Spanish at Univision's website, and a video report, below.
