MIAMI, United States. – Damian Valdez-Galloso, the only suspect in the murder of Cuban reggaeton singer José Manuel Carbajal Zaldívar, known artistically as El Taiger, was extradited this Wednesday to Miami from New York, where he was captured on October 29 after staying more than 20 days fugitive
Dressed in white and under strict security measures, Valdez-Galloso arrived at Miami International Airport and was subjected to an exhaustive review by the authorities. Throughout the process, the accused remained silent and showed no signs of resistance or indications of regret, as recorded in a report by journalist Javier Díazfrom Univision 23.
The video released by Díaz shows the suspect being escorted away in handcuffs by two officers. When the reporter asked “Do you have anything to say, Damian?”, the defendant fell silent. After completing security procedures and a medical evaluation, Valdez-Galloso was transported to the Miami-Dade County Jail.
The alleged murderer faces charges for “second-degree murder,” “tampering with evidence” and “possession of a firearm.” According to the arrest report published by authorities, after shooting El Taiger from the door of his home, the defendant used a back exit to flee. Subsequently, he dragged the victim by the ankles and put him into the vehicle in which the Police would find the artist a little more than an hour later.
The document, which has been spread on social networksdetails that El Taiger arrived at Valdez-Galloso’s residence around 5:24 am, and the shooting occurred shortly after. While the singer lay injured in the vehicle, the defendant cleaned the crime scene, changed his clothes and left for the vicinity of the Jackson Memorial Hospital trauma center, where he left the injured man.
The Police received an emergency call made by Valdez-Galloso himself and arrived at the scene at 6:45 am. Thus, the officers found El Taiger bleeding from the head near the intersection of Northwest 9th Avenue and the 17th Street, in Miami. The artist was taken to the hospital, where he remained in critical condition for a week before die on October 10.
Damian Valdez-Galloso, also known as “El Narra”, owns an extensive criminal history spanning more than a decade. Between 2007 and 2018, he accumulated six convictions, including two for sexual relations with minors between 16 and 17 years old and three for not registering as a sex offender. In 2018 he was convicted of grand theft, and was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2015 and 2019.
Released from prison in September 2020, in 2021 he faced a grand theft charge in Miami-Dade County. Records indicate that, as a convicted felon, he resided in Hialeah as a registered sex offender.
Miami Police Chief Manuel A. Morales confirmed in a press conference that Valdez-Galloso is the material author of the murder of El Taiger and assured that there are no other people involved. “Damian was the one who shot; is responsible and there is no other person involved,” Morales emphasized.
Although not all the details have been revealed about how his capture was achieved in New York, it is known that Miami Police officers were sent to that city, which culminated in his arrest in Queens. In addition, sources close to the investigation mentioned the existence of a surveillance video that captured the moment of the shot and how the artist was placed in a car, although this material has not yet been released by the authorities.
With his extradition to Miami, Damian Valdez-Galloso will now face the corresponding judicial process for the charges against him.
