Lalo Salamanca

Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca is a member of the Juárez Cartel and one of many nephews of drug kingpin Hector Salamanca. Little is known of his background before his appearance on Better Call Saul.[4] The season five finale reveals he has a home in Chihuahua, Mexico, where many of his friends, his family, and a large staff live. Lalo is a respected cartel member who has gained the favor of its leader, Don Eladio Vuente,[9] and drives a 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.[14]

After Hector suffers a stroke that leaves only his right index finger mobile, Lalo moves from Mexico to Albuquerque to help run the Salamanca family's drug operation. He takes a greater interest in the day-to-day details than Hector did, which makes Hector's subordinate Nacho Varga (secretly responsible for Hector's stroke and recently turned mole for rival kingpin Gus Fring) uneasy.[15] Lalo visits Hector in the nursing home and gives him a front desk call bell, a souvenir from when Hector killed a hotelier and burned down the hotel after its owner disrespected him. Lalo attaches the bell to Hector's wheelchair so Hector can communicate by ringing the bell with his finger. Lalo thanks Gus for giving Hector first aid and paying for his care but surveils Gus' subordinates to learn their regular activities.[16]

While staking out Gus' Los Pollos Hermanos chicken farm, Lalo observes activity related to Werner Ziegler's escape. He follows Mike Ehrmantraut as Mike tracks Werner, which leads him to a Travelwire store. Mike updates Gus on Werner's actions and persuades Gus to let him retrieve Werner instead of sending hitmen after him. After Mike and Gus leave, Lalo enters and tries to learn what Mike knows, but the clerk, Fred Whalen, refuses to tell him. Lalo kills Fred, reviews the security footage Mike saw, and sets fire to the store on his way out. Lalo calls resorts until he finds Werner; he then pretends to work for Gus and tricks Werner into revealing some details about the construction of the meth lab under Gus' industrial laundry. Mike arrives at Werner's location and ends the call but realizes Lalo knows some information about the meth lab construction. Mike reports to Gus, who realizes Werner will have to be killed to prevent Lalo from learning more; Mike accepts responsibility because Werner escaped on his watch and kills Werner himself.[17]

Gus draws Lalo to a meeting by having Nacho slip meth into the Salamancas' share of the cartel's cocaine. With Juan Bolsa present, Gus tells Lalo that Werner was constructing a chilling system, fled after stealing cocaine, and Gus attempted to cover for the loss by replacing the cocaine with local, inferior meth. Since the cover story explains events Lalo knows about, he accepts Gus' explanation and apology. Bolsa tells Lalo the cartel considers the matter closed. However, Lalo remains suspicious after Bolsa confirms that the cartel only tolerates Gus because he is a top moneymaker.[18]

Gus threatens Nacho's father to coerce Nacho into gaining Lalo's trust so he can provide Gus inside information on the Salamancas.[19] When Krazy-8 is arrested outside a Salamanca stash house, Nacho climbs over rooftops to sneak in and recover the drugs before police enter. Lalo is impressed and takes Nacho into his confidence. Nacho brings Jimmy to Lalo, who knows of Jimmy from conversations with Tuco. Lalo asks Jimmy to free Krazy-8 by using him to feed the DEA information on Gus' dead drops. Nacho informs Gus, who accepts the loss of cash from the dead drops to protect Nacho's role as his informant. Jimmy secures Krazy-8's release and makes him a confidential informant for DEA agent Hank Schrader, giving Lalo a way to feed the DEA more information about Gus' operation. Lalo congratulates Jimmy, but Nacho warns him that once he begins working for drug dealers, there is no turning back.[20]

Mike, posing as a private investigator for Fred's family, convinces a witness to Fred's murder into providing details about Lalo's car, and the police arrest Lalo.[21] Lalo is initially denied bail, and suspicious of how the police came to pursue his car as a lead instructs Nacho to burn down one of Gus' restaurants. Gus realises Lalo will continue to be a problem even from jail, but decides killing him in jail will cause too many problems as the cartel will not tolerate it, so he again protects Nacho's role as his informant by allowing the arson to happen. Gus then orchestrates Lalo's release from jail by having Mike provide Jimmy details of where the information about Lalo's car came from, and that the witness provided the information only after being put up to it. Jimmy uses the information to accuse police of witness tampering, and the judge sets bail at $7 million cash.[1]

Lalo's cousins Leonel and Marco Salamanca deliver the money to Jimmy at a remote desert location, but Bolsa, who believes he is protecting Gus' business by keeping Lalo imprisoned, sends gunmen after Jimmy to stop the handoff. Mike was following Jimmy for Gus and kills all but one gunman. They continue the trip back to Albuquerque with the money, but after Jimmy's car breaks down, they push it off the side of the road and walk for two days. On the second day, they kill the remaining gunman and reach a truck stop, where they call Victor and Tyrus Kitt for help.[22]

Upon his return, Jimmy posts bail and gives Lalo a cover story to hide Mike's involvement. Jimmy also advises Lalo that the police are now highly suspicious of him and how he got $7 million bail in cash. Lalo bids Hector goodbye and prepares to return to Mexico to avoid trial. However, his suspicions lead him to search for Jimmy's car. He confronts Jimmy and Kim Wexler at her apartment and reveals he found the car, which has many bullet holes. Kim tells Lalo that passersby probably shot at it for fun and berates him for not trusting Jimmy. Apparently satisfied, Lalo leaves for Mexico with Nacho.[23]

At Lalo's Chihuahua home, friends and family greet him and Nacho. Lalo introduces Nacho to Don Eladio, who blesses the plan for Nacho to oversee the Salamanca drug business in Lalo's absence. Gus sends assassins to Lalo's home, and Nacho receives a call instructing him to leave Lalo's back gate open at 3 a.m. Lalo is still awake at 3 a.m., so Nacho sets a kitchen fire to distract him and opens the gate. Nacho flees as the assassins enter and kill most of Lalo's family and guards. Lalo kills all but one assassin and forces the survivor to report his death to the middleman who arranged the attack. Lalo then realizes that Nacho is missing and angrily strides away from his house.[24]

Though Lalo never appears in Breaking Bad, Saul mentions him when Walter White and Jesse Pinkman kidnap and hold Saul at gunpoint before a newly dug grave in the desert to coerce him into representing Badger, who has been arrested for selling drugs. Believing Lalo sent Walter and Jesse, he says in panic, "It wasn't me, it was Ignacio! He's the one!". Saul is relieved when Walter and Jesse's confusion confirms they have no connection to Lalo.[25] Later in season four, Gus tells Hector that all of the other Salamancas are dead, implying that Lalo died at some point.[26]