A popular urban music singer has been shot dead two years after he sang about “those who want to kill me”.

The bullet-ridden body of Francisco Santiago Serrano, 37, was found on kilometre 2 of Highway 60 in the municipality of Humacao on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico on Friday, 17th December.

The police, who are investigating the case, believe the singer, who was known professionally as Cano El Barbaro, was the victim of a targeted assassination.

It is not reported who may have been behind the killing and why the singer was dispatched. However, his 2019 single ‘No tienen rifle’ (‘They Don’t Have a Rifle’), a collaboration with Pacho El Antifeka, he sings of “those who want to kill me” and sings “they speak of my death to hunt me down”.

Cano El Barbaro came to fame in 2015 with his single ‘No, No’, a collaboration with reggaeton artist Benny Benni. He was working on a new album at the time of his killing.

The victim was driving a black 2021 Can-Am Maverick off-road vehicle at the time of the incident. His lifeless body was found by the police in the driver’s seat.

His murder was one of five in Puerto Rico, which is a Spanish-speaking US territory, in 24 hours.

As of the weekend before the singer’s killing, 594 murders had been recorded in Puerto Rico so far this year, up 84 on last year.

Cano El Barbaro’s 2019 single ‘Amor sin fe’ (‘Love Without Faith’), a collaboration with Yomo, has 656,000 views on YouTube.