The two men who approached Benito Valdez were equipped with Halloween masks and at least one handgun, The Miami Herald reported. Valdez was sitting quietly in a chair outside El Palacio de los Jugos in Hialeah.

Using skills he learned in the Cuban navy, Valdez kicked one of the men on the arm that was holding the gun. He pulled out his own handgun and fired two shots in the air, scaring the intruders off.

"'It all happened in fractions of a second. I figured they would be armed and I used that technique," Valdez said "I could have killed them, but I spared their lives."

Valdez described his assailants as "inexperienced young men." He hopes they learn from the experience that crime is not worth the risk.