Cuban Reggaeton singer El Taiger died Thursday in a “senseless violent crime,” nearly a week after he was mysteriously discovered inside a car suffering from a gunshot wound to his forehead. He was 37.
El Taiger, whose real name was Jose Manuel Carbajal Zaldivar, was found in the back of a Mercedes-Benz SUV with gallons of fuel in the gas tank just after 7 a.m. on Oct. 4 in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood.
“Jose Manuel Carbajal, known as “El Taiger,” was the victim of a senseless violent crime,” a post to his Instagram story read Thursday. “Sadly, this afternoon, El Taiger was pronounced dead and has now been reunited with his beloved mother in heaven.”
The singer was rushed to nearby Jackson Memorial Hospital in “very critical condition,” according to Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales.
“While this news is both shocking and heartbreaking, we encourage El Taiger’s fans to honor his memory by celebrating the joy he brought to so many fans. Turn up your music, dance and celebrate his life,” the post added. “El Taiger was the people’s sentiment and now we must keep that sentiment alive through his music and legacy.”
“He was my friend, and he was a singer,” Jonathan Esponda told WSVN. “He was big for our community, really big in our community.”
“Really important for us, because his music, he made a change,” fan Daniel Andran told the outlet.
Cops believe he may have been shot somewhere else and then dumped close to the hospital.
“We are certain it did not happen on that corner where the car was found. This happened somewhere else, someone drove it there, left it and left on foot,” Miami police spokesman Mike Vega told Telemundo.
Police said one man was being sought for questioning in the murder investigation.
On Tuesday, Miami police released a wanted poster seeking help locating Damian Valdez-Gallaso, 49, for questioning related to the shooting.
“We are not certain if there’s any other individuals that are related to the investigation that might be out there,” Morales said Tuesday. “But for now we need to speak to this gentleman today so if the public can help us out it will definitely help this investigation.”
Two gallons of gasoline were found inside the SUV along with the gravely wounded singer.
“We know there was a lot of blood inside the SUV. He was in the back, and officers had to open the back of the SUV to get him out,” the police spokesman said.
El Taiger, who has more than 1 million followers on Instagram, was arrested in Miami for drug possession and armed robbery in March 2023.
He was nabbed again in July on armed robbery, assault and cocaine possession charges — and was out on bail in that case when he was found critically injured last week.
