A woman who identified herself as the aunt of Damian Valdez-Galloso, the man sought by police as a "person of interest" in the death of El Taiger, recently spoke out asking that Damian's family not be criminalized on social media and not be exposed.
At the same time, he expressed some opinions about El Taiger that might be painful or inappropriate for the singer's fans, who are currently undergoing a sort of collective mourning for his loss.
In an extensive live broadcast on her YouTube channel, Evelyn— as she is referred to by family— harshly criticized several influencers whom she believes have contributed to a media lynching not only of her nephew but are also harming the entire family by sharing family photos on social media.
Evelyn also referred to Ledián Campo Frómeta, Damian's cousin, who has been missing since 2017 and whose image has been used by some influencers as a possible accomplice in what happened, which she finds absurd.
He assures that Damian's father is an honest and hardworking man with no criminal record, who has dedicated his entire life in the U.S. to working and caring for his autistic daughter, Damian's sister. The young woman is 20 years old and has not attended classes since the incident, due to the family's fear of any action against her.
It says that Damian's mother, who is a nurse, does not dare to leave the house either for fear that someone will harm her.
“Sir, look at it from the other side of the story. He has family,” said Evelyn, who emphasized that, while there is indeed evidence that Damian paid for the motel where El Taiger spent the night before the murder, “what happened remains unknown.”
He says that the family filed a missing persons report for Damian the day after the Hialeah home was raided by the police.
They mention that the family seriously fears that Damian may be dead and perceive him as such. To this difficult possibility adds the media lynching without knowing what truly happened.
"Perhaps Damian is a victim," he speculated. In any case, he insisted that, whether guilty or not, it's unfair to expose the family.
"It is not fair to publish photos of a girl who is autistic… and for some to write, 'let's pass on information about your little sister.' That is inciting violence; they don’t even know what is happening with her brother. No one has stopped to think about what has happened to Damian. Let's assume he had involvement, but we must give him the benefit of the doubt," she pointed out.
Evelyn believes that her nephew—if he is still alive by now—might know what happened to El Taiger, that he may even have witnessed the event or that the circumstances could have involved him in some way. However, she seriously doubts that he fired the shot that killed the reggaeton singer.
He defends that they were friends and doesn't believe he would be capable of doing something like that; he also doesn't think he could have moved El Taiger on his own.
"My nephew, no matter how big and strong he is, cannot take on El Taiger alone," he asserted.
"The person who left him at the hospital didn’t have the heart to let him die. They didn’t. It wasn’t that they didn’t have the chance; the opportunity was there."
One of the most controversial parts of his lengthy intervention—and something that may hurt the followers of the reggaeton artist—was his statement that what happened to "El Taiger was of his own doing."
"Sir, let's be honest. I love El Taiger's music, I really do. I'm an old woman, but I enjoy El Taiger's music; however, El Taiger brought this upon himself. In real life, El Taiger brought this upon himself," she said, without elaborating on that harsh statement.
At another time, he described him as a "delinquent," expressing his astonishment at the overwhelming support movement he has generated, support that he believes is more urgently needed for other causes related to Cuba, a sentiment echoed by several individuals on social media in recent days.
"This Miami has come together – and I want to make it clear that I do not agree with what happened to him – but it has united around a criminal [...] More people have rallied around a criminal, because that’s what El Taiger is, let's be clear about that, a criminal whose lifestyle I enjoy just like I do with Chocolate's. However, they have joined together more for a criminal than for the cause of Cuba, and it’s the same in Cuba," he pointed out.
He said that El Taiger "is a beloved artist who has won the hearts of all Cubans," but immediately added that "Cubans are tightening up."
Finally, a special mention in his speech was made by Alexander Otaola, whom he described as a very bad person, although he also affirmed that he is very intelligent.
"Either he is too intelligent or people are too foolish," said Evelyn, who asserted that Otaola consciously threw himself into controversy by discussing El Taiger, solely to divert attention from the much more troubling case of his former treasurer, who faces serious sexual allegations.
"Don't focus on Otaola any longer. Otaola is putting a blindfold on us, and we are falling for it like rats, one by one," he concluded.
The chief of the Miami Police, Manuel Morales, ruled out during a press conference last week that the incident involving El Taiger was a suicide attempt, describing what happened as a "criminal act."
Morales requested public assistance in locating Damian Valdez-Galloso, 49, also known as “el Narra,” who has been declared a "person of interest" in the investigation of the reggaeton artist's case.
The singer passed away on October 10 after being in critical condition for a week at Jackson Memorial Hospital, having been found in a vehicle with a gunshot wound to the head.
As previously revealed, El Taiger and El Narra shared a friendship, and police investigations indicated that he was one of the last people to be with the reggaeton artist before he was found with a gunshot wound.
At the press conference, Morales explained that the police need to interrogate him regarding the attempted murder, which occurred near NW 9th Avenue and 17th Street on October 3.
Authorities have offered a reward of $5,000 for credible information leading to the whereabouts of Damian Valdez, who is 5'09" tall, weighs approximately 186 pounds, has brown eyes and hair, and has tattoos on both arms and on his chest.
The police are asking anyone with information about the incident to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 305 471-TIPS (8477).
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