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.[3] The fifth season finale "Something Unforgivable" shows him to have a home in Chihuahua, Mexico where many of his friends, his family, and a large staff live. Lalo is shown as a respected member of the Mexican cartel who has gained the favor of its leader, Don Eladio Vuente.[8] Lalo drives a 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.[13]

After Hector suffers a stroke and becomes confined to a wheelchair, Lalo arrives 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 turned into a mole for rival kingpin Gus Fring) uneasy.[14] Lalo visits Hector in the nursing home and gives him the gift of a front desk call bell, which Lalo kept as a souvenir when Hector killed a hotelier and burned down the building after the hotel owner was disrespectful to him. Lalo attaches the bell to Hector's wheelchair, enabling him to communicate more effectively with his right index finger, the only body part Hector can move after he emerges from his coma. Lalo thanks Gus for giving Hector first aid and paying for his care, but also surveils Gus's subordinates to learn their regular activities.[15]

Werner Ziegler escapes from Mike Ehrmantraut's supervision. Lalo, who had been staking out Gus' Los Pollos Hermanos chicken farm, follows Mike as he tracks down Werner. Mike stops at a Travelwire store and reviews security footage showing Werner looking at travel brochures, as Lalo watches from outside. Mike guesses Werner is going to a nearby spa to meet his wife and asks Gus to allow him to persuade Werner to return rather than killing him. After Mike and Gus leave, Lalo enters the store and attempts to learn what Mike knows, but the clerk, Fred Whalen, refuses to tell him. Lalo kills Fred and reviews the footage himself, burns the store as he leaves, then begins calling travel resorts to track down Werner. Pretending to work for Gus, Lalo obtains some details about the construction of the meth lab before Mike arrives at Werner's location and ends the call. Realizing that Lalo is partially aware of Werner's activities, Gus tells Mike that Werner will have to be killed and offers to send men to do it. Mike accepts responsibility because Werner escaped on his watch, and kills Werner himself.[16]

Gus draws Lalo to a meeting by having Nacho secretly slip methamphetamine into the Salamanca's share of the cartel's cocaine. At this meeting with Gus and Juan Bolsa, Gus tells Lalo that Werner was working on a legitimate construction project, stole cocaine, and escaped, after which Gus had him killed and attempted to cover up the theft. The cover story explains events of which Lalo is aware, so he accepts Gus' explanation and apology. Bolsa tells Lalo the cartel considers the matter closed. However, Lalo remains suspicious after confirming with Hector that the cartel only tolerates Gus because he is a top moneymaker.[17] Gus later uses threats to Nacho's father to coerce Nacho into gaining Lalo's trust so he can provide Gus inside information on the Salamancas.[18]

Domingo "Krazy-8" Molina is arrested when police discover a Salamanca drug house.[18] Nacho climbs over rooftops to sneak in and recover the drug stash before police enter. Lalo is impressed, and begins taking Nacho into his confidence. Nacho brings Jimmy to Lalo, who knows of Jimmy from Tuco. Lalo asks Jimmy to get Domingo out of jail by feeding the DEA information on Gus's dead drops. Jimmy not only secures Domingo's release, but protects Domingo by making him a confidential informant for DEA Agent Hank Schrader, which gives Lalo a way to feed the DEA more information about Gus's operation. Lalo congratulates Jimmy, but Nacho warns him that when it comes to working for drug cartels, "Once you're in, you're in."[19]

Nacho warns Gus about the dead drops, and Gus accepts the loss of nearly one million dollars to the DEA to protect Nacho's role as his informant.[19] Instead, Gus has Mike work with Nacho to arrange for Lalo to be arrested for Fred's murder by having Mike trick a witness into providing details about Lalo's car to the police.[20] Lalo is detained under the alias "Jorge de Guzmán" and denied bail, but contacts Nacho with orders to destroy one of Gus' restaurants. Gus again accepts the loss to continue protecting Nacho's role as his mole, and Gus and Nacho burn down one of Gus's restaurants. While at a meeting with Peter, the CEO of Madrigal Electromotive, the parent company of Los Pollos Hermanos, Gus privately informs Peter and Madrigal executive Lydia, his co-conspirators in the drug business, that Lalo remains a threat even while in prison, but assures them he has a plan to solve the problem.[21]

Lalo intends to avoid a trial and promises to make Jimmy wealthy as a "friend of the cartel" if he succeeds in obtaining bail. Gus instructs Mike to give Jimmy the details of the investigation Mike did under an assumed name, which Jimmy uses to accuse police of witness tampering. The judge sets bail at $7 million cash. Lalo arranges for his cousins Leonel and Marco Salamanca to deliver the money to Jimmy at a remote desert location, and Jimmy agrees to go in exchange for $100,000. On his return trip, Jimmy is attacked by gunmen sent by Bolsa, who believes he is protecting Gus's business by keeping Lalo in jail. Mike was tracking Jimmy for Gus and kills all but one of Jimmy's attackers. After Jimmy's car breaks down, they are forced to push it into a ditch to hide it and walk through the desert for two days. On the second day, they work together to kill the remaining attacker. When Jimmy fails to arrive home as planned, Kim pretends to be Lalo's lawyer to meet him in jail and ask for Jimmy's location. Lalo refuses, saying that Jimmy will be fine because he is a survivor.[22]

Jimmy and Mike make it to a truck stop and Tyrus Kitt and Victor bring them back to Albuquerque. Mike and Jimmy agree on a cover story for Lalo. Jimmy posts the bail and Lalo is released. Jimmy tells Lalo his car broke down and he walked alone cross-country so he would not risk losing the money. Lalo tells Jimmy he plans to avoid a trial by returning to Mexico the next day. Lalo says goodbye to Hector, and then has Nacho take him to the same drop-off point where Jimmy met Leonel and Marco. Lalo realizes he did not see Jimmy's car, so he searches until he finds it. Instead of returning to Mexico, Lalo instructs Nacho to drive back to Albuquerque. At Kim's apartment, Mike listens in via Jimmy's cell phone and keeps a sniper rifle aimed at Lalo while Lalo confronts Jimmy and Kim about Jimmy's story and reveals he found bullet holes in Jimmy's car. Kim tells Lalo that passersby probably shot at the car for fun and berates Lalo for not trusting Jimmy. Lalo seems satisfied and leaves, then tells Nacho they are going to Mexico.[23] Kim and Jimmy check into a hotel so Lalo will not find them if he returns.[24]

The next day, Gus tells Mike he has sent gunmen to kill Lalo and says Nacho's unexpected presence may be able to aid them. Mike informs Jimmy of the pending attack and Jimmy tells Kim, causing them to believe it is safe to return home. In Mexico, Lalo and Nacho arrive at Lalo's home in Chihuahua, where they are greeted by Lalo's friends and family. Nacho receives a phone call directing him to leave Lalo's back gate open at 3 am. Lalo introduces Nacho to Don Eladio, who blesses the plan for Nacho to oversee the Salamanca drug business in Lalo's absence. Lalo is awake at 3 am, so Nacho starts a fire in the house as a distraction. When Lalo goes to investigate, Nacho opens the gate and flees, while the gunmen enter. The gunmen kill Lalo's guards and most of his family, and Lalo is wounded. He escapes the house via a hidden tunnel, then sneaks back in and kills all but one of the gunmen. He forces the survivor to call the middleman who set up the attack and report that Lalo has been killed. As Lalo looks around, he realizes that Nacho is missing.[24]

Though Lalo never appeared in Breaking Bad, he is mentioned by Saul when Walter White and Jesse Pinkman attempt to coerce Saul into representing Badger (who has been arrested for selling drugs) by kidnapping and holding Saul at gunpoint before a newly dug grave in the desert. Saul mistakenly believes Walt and Jesse work for Lalo and says in panic, "It wasn't me, it was Ignacio [Nacho]! He's the one!". Saul is relieved when Walt and Jesse's confusion confirms they have no connection to Lalo.[25]