Cuban reggaeton singer El Taiger has died at the age of 37

Cuban reggaeton singer El Taiger died Thursday in a “senseless violent crime,” nearly a week after he was mysteriously discovered in a car suffering a gunshot wound to the forehead. He was 37.

El Taiger, whose real name was Jose Manuel Carbajal Zaldivar, was found shortly after 7 a.m. on October 4 in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood in the back seat of a Mercedes-Benz SUV with gallons of fuel in the gas tank.

“Jose Manuel Carbajal, known as “El Taiger,” was the victim of a senseless violent crime,” he said in a post on his Instagram Story on Thursday. “Sadly, El Taiger was pronounced dead this afternoon and is now reunited with his beloved mother in heaven.”

According to Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales, the singer was taken to nearby Jackson Memorial Hospital in “very critical condition.”

“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 continued. “El Taiger was the feeling of the people and now we must keep that feeling alive through his music and his legacy.”

Fans gathered at a makeshift memorial outside the hospital on Thursday, where they honked car horns and played some of the singer’s music together.

“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 he changed something with his music,” fan Daniel Andran told the outlet.

Police believe he was shot elsewhere and then dumped near the hospital.

“We are sure it did not happen on the corner where the car was found. “This happened somewhere else, someone drove it there, abandoned it and walked,” Miami police spokesman Mike Vega told Telemundo.

Police said a man was wanted for questioning as part of the murder investigation.

On Tuesday, Miami police released a wanted poster asking for help locating Damian Valdez-Gallaso, 49, for questioning in connection with the shooting.

“We are not sure if there are other people connected to the investigation,” Morales said Tuesday. “But right now we need to talk to this gentleman today. So if the public can help us, it will definitely help this investigation.”

Two gallons of gasoline were found inside the SUV along with the seriously injured singer.

“We know there was a lot of blood in the SUV. He was in the back and officers had to open the tailgate 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 in March 2023 on drug possession and armed robbery charges.

He was arrested again in July for armed robbery, assault and cocaine possession – and was out on bail in that case when he was found critically injured last week.