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La familia es todo. (Family is all)
― Hector Salamanca giving two of his nephews a lesson[src]

Don Hector Salamanca, nicknamed Tío by his nephews, is the elderly patriarch of the Salamanca family, and a high ranking Cartel Capo. He is a close associate of cartel boss Don Eladio Vuente and don Juan Bolsa. Hector is the son of Abuelita, the uncle of twins Marco and Leonel, Lalo, and Tuco, and is the grandfather of Joaquin. He raised his nephews like they were his own sons, and taught them that family is everything, living by the creed himself. He is the original Don of the Salamanca family's drug organization, being briefly succeeded by his nephew Lalo. Though brutal, Hector is very loyal to his family and the cartel.

History[]

Background information[]

Tio Cousins OneMinute

Don Hector teaching a lesson to his nephews.

Hector Salamanca was born in Mexico in 1939 and was one of the founding members of the Cartel and was referred to, even in his infirmity, as "Don Hector" by contemporary cartel leaders like Juan Bolsa. He was the most feared of the Dons and was the patriarch of the Salamanca family. He was the uncle to Lalo, Marco and Leonel, as well as Tuco and his sister. Hector also had one child, whom had a son named Joaquin. A flashback revealed that he was working for Don Eladio Vuente at the time Gustavo Fring made an overture toward the cartel in 1989. Hector is seen discussing on the phone how the cartel should deal with Gus, whom he disparaged as the "Chicken Man," when he warned, "Never trust a South American." Shortly after this conversation, Hector teaches his nephews, Marco and Leonel, brutal life lessons such as "family is all" by nearly drowning Marco until Leonel punched him in the face ("One Minute").

Arciniega

Hector Salamanca about to murder Max Arciniega.

Don Eladio eventually elected to receive Gus and his partner, Max Arciniega, at his home to discuss a deal. Both Hector and Juan Bolsa are present at the meeting, the negotiation seems to be fine until Don Eladio mentions how Gus and Max disrespected the cartel by selling drugs to Eladio's men in order to call the Don's attention. As the duo do everything in their power to calm down Don Eladio, Hector shoots Max in the head in front of Gus. Then, as Bolsa holds Gus down to the floor, both Don Eladio and Hector proceeded to taunt him, saying that his place is taking care of the chicken and not the drugs. Gus holds an enormous hatred for the cartel because of the incident, but mainly for Hector, because he was the one who pulled the trigger on his partner. ("Hermanos")

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Don Eladio humiliates Hector.

Even after these events, Don Eladio eventually decided to accept Gus' request and allowed him to sell the cartel's products north of the Mexican border. During the mid-90's, Hector drops by Don Eladio's hacienda to deliver his tribute. He also reports on his expansion of the Salamanca business to the US, having bought an ice cream shop named after the cartel's fierce leader. Even though Hector is proud of his work, he is humiliated by Don Eladio when he sees the mascot of the ice cream shop, the bullying gets worse when Bolsa arrives shortly after bringing Gus' significantly larger tribute. Don Eladio orders Hector to start following in Gus' footsteps, adding insult to injury. This causes Hector to become visually angry and jealous at Gus' easy success in quickly gaining the trust and favor the Don of the cartel he has worked so hard for many years. ("Sabrosito")

Better Call Saul[]

Season 2[]

Hector's nephew, Tuco, is arrested after assaulting Mike Ehrmantraut in front of police officers. The allegations get worse when Tuco's illegal gun was found on the crime scene. Hector meets with Mike himself on behalf of his nephew. He requests that Mike tells the police that he was the one who owned the gun, not Tuco, as Mike, being ex-police, won't be punished heavily. He tells him that he wants what's best for each party and will make Tuco apologize for what he did. He also will give him $5000 in cash if Mike does as he says. He leaves the restaurant without any response from Mike, and tells him to think about it. ("Rebecca")

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Hector intimidates Mike Ehrmantraut.

Hector sends one of his men to intimidate Mike and make sure he has accepted his offer, but Mike declines and walks inside. Later that night, he checks the contact paper under the welcome mat of his home and notices footprints and subdues two of Hector's men waiting to ambush him (one of which was the stranger sitting on his steps) after tricking them by turning on the TV. They admit to being sent by Hector to scare Mike but he chases them off. Hector sends Marco and Leonel to the motel Stacey Ehrmantraut and Kaylee Ehrmantraut are staying and while Mike is playing with his granddaughter Kaylee at the pool, Mike sees the Cousins standing on an adjacent rooftop and making a gun signal at Mike's granddaughter. Now aware that his family has become a target, Mike meets with Hector at his ice cream shop. Surrounded by Hector's men and nephews, Mike says he will comply with Hector's request, but his price is $50,000 now. Hector threatens Mike, and Mike threatens to shoot him even knowing that he will be killed shortly after, Hector respects Mike's courage and agrees to pay him as long as he tells the police that Tuco's gun was his. ("Bali Ha'i")

Following these events, Mike secretly begins staking out Hector's drug operation, looking for a weakness to exploit. In due time, Mike attacks an ice cream truck driven by Ximenez Lecerda, who was transporting drug money for Hector across the border. Mike leaves Ximenez tied up in the desert and takes the drug money with him, hitting Hector's operations heavily. ("Nailed")

Later on, Mike learns from Nacho that a Good Samaritan found Ximenez tied up in the desert and helped him get back in the city, and Hector ended up killing the innocent man as he was a witness to what happened. Mike feels guilty for the death of the good samaritan, so he secretly stalks Nacho, who is transporting Ximenez to an abandoned shack ranch in the desert, where Hector and the Cousins are waiting. There, Mike prepares for a hit on Hector, using a sniper he previously purchased from Lawson. Positioning himself on a hilltop overlooking the shack, Mike takes aim, but before he can get a clear shot of Hector, Nacho unintentionally positions himself in front of Hector preventing Mike from taking a clear shot. Refusing to kill Nacho, Mike is forced to watch helplessly as the Cousins murder Ximenez, before escorting Hector and Nacho back into the shack, while Mike awaits for Hector to reemerge. However, Mike becomes distracted by the sound of a car horn blaring in the distance, which he eventually realizes is coming from his own station wagon. He finds a branch propped inside his station wagon against the horn, and a note on the windshield with a single word: "Don't." ("Klick",  "Mabel")

Season 3[]

Following the interception of another of his trucks by the border patrol (due to Mike's interference) and the subsequent DEA raid on his ice cream store, Hector doesn't have the means to smuggle drugs across the Mexican border anymore. Still holding a grudge on Gus Fring, Hector and his men enter the Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant in Albuquerque in broad daylight and threaten his employees. Gus arrives sometime later to check on what is happening. Hector wants to use Gus' operation to smuggle his drugs from now on, and even though Gus objects that his chicken trucks don't have the space to carry extra products, Hector orders him to find room for it. ("Sabrosito")

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Don Hector talking to Nacho about taking over his father's business.

During another afternoon of receiving payment from his drug dealers at the El Michoacáno restaurant, Hector forces Nacho to beat up Krazy-8 because he came short to his payment. As part of Gus' agreement with Hector, Gus' men hand over a portion of his smuggled drugs to Nacho, who insists on taking one more package than was agreed to. Gus orders his henchmen to allow Nacho to take the extra portion. Hector ordered Nacho to do this because he wanted to see Gus' reaction, but he was disappointed. Knowing that using the chicken trucks is only a temporary measure, Hector wants a new smuggling route and decides to use Nacho's father's upholstery business as a front over Nacho's objections. Hector finds out that Tuco has stabbed another prisoner in jail and then assaulted a police officer, he has now been placed in solitary confinement. Hector gets furious at this as Tuco will now serve more time than he should've, Hector's anger triggers his heart condition and he takes his medication to calm down, but accidentally drops one of the capsules, which Nacho steals without him noticing. ("Off Brand")

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Nacho stealing Hector's medications to replace them later.

Nacho starts planning to take Hector out of action, as he is endangering his father's business with his plans of taking them over to smuggle drugs from Mexico. Using the empty pill capsules Daniel supplied to him, Nacho fills the fake capsules with a placebo which he plans on slipping into Hector's coat pocket. The following day, at the El Michoacáno restaurant, which has become incredibly hot thanks to Nacho who secretly sabotaged the restaurant's air conditioning unit the night before, Nacho does his daily transactions with the dealers while Hector has his coat draped over his chair. As Nacho counts Krazy-8's money, he pretends to scrutinize one of the dollar bills in Krazy-8's stack, claiming that it looks "funny". Hector asks him to come over so he can scrutinize it. As Hector examines the bill, Nacho leans over to find Hector's pill bottle, before proceeding to "accidentally" drop the rest of the the money on the ground. As Hector is preoccupied, Nacho retrieves the pill bottle, picks up the money, and returns to his seat, carefully keeping the pill bottle on his lap while he counts the next dealer's money. Once the dealer is gone, Nacho carefully switches Hector's real pills with the doctored ones. While Nacho proceeds to get Hector more coffee, he successfully tosses the bottle of the doctored capsules into Hector's coat pocket. ("Slip")

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Hector and his men meet with Gus.

Don Eladio orders Hector and Gus to meet in a remote location to talk to Juan Bolsa, regarding the recent conflicts between the two parties. Hector, accompanied by Nacho and Arturo, learns from Bolsa that Don Eladio is satisfied with new "consolidated transportation method" of shipping drugs, he feels that using Gus' distribution network exclusively is the safest and most effective way to continue. Angered by this news, Hector proceeds to have another brief attack, leading him to take Nacho's spiked pills, which surprisingly have no apparent effect. Upon recovering, Hector curses Gus, Bolsa and, Eladio before proceeding to leave with his men. ("Fall")

Nacho takes Hector to his father's shop to show around how the operations work. Hector meets with Nacho's father and offers him some money upfront as a sign of friendship, but Nacho's father is an honest man and refuses to cooperate with criminals like the Salamancas, ordering Hector to leave his shop. This infuriates Hector, who tells Nacho that he doesn't trust his father anymore. Nacho feels desperate, as the staked pills apparently have no effect and his father is now running serious danger, so Nacho decides to take care of Hector himself. At night, he goes to Hector's warehouse to execute him but is surprised to see that another cartel meeting with Gus and Juan Bolsa was about to take place. Bolsa informs Hector that Don Eladio is reinforcing his orders regarding Gus' operations. Hector grows enraged the Don's orders and starts screaming at Bolsa and Gus that the Salamancas have worked hard for the cartel, they lost blood for the cartel, they invested money in the cartel and even then they are treated like dogs. Hector starts having another attack in his infuriated state, he suffers great pain when he tries to take his medication - Nacho's spiked pills finally kick in. Hector suffers an apparent heart attack and collapses to the ground, Gus rushes in and performs CPR as Juan Bolsa flees. Hector survives and is taken to a hospital by ambulance while Gus rightly suspects Nacho's involvement. ("Lantern")

Season 4[]

After the events of Hector's collapsing, Bolsa reveals that Hector has had a stroke and the Cartel doesn't know when he'll be able to come back. Gus and Bolsa discuss how Hector's enemies will take the chance to move against the Salamancas and it could lead to a war that would draw the attention of the DEA. Later, Nacho gets rid of the doctored pills he used to cause Hector's stroke, watched in secret by one of Gus' men, Victor. ("Smoke")

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The Cousins are informed about Hector's treatment.

Gus sends his own doctor, Barry Goodman, to check on Hector's condition in the hospital. Barry informs Gus that Hector is no longer comatose, but there is no telling when he's going to wake up or if he's going to be able to understand what's happening around him when he does so. Gus feels like this event got in the way of his plan to have revenge on Hector for killing his partner in the past. Gus decides to pay a specialist doctor from Johns-Hopkins to come to Albuquerque and make sure that Hector will recover. The doctor later explains to Arturo, Nacho and The Cousins that they will start a treatment to try to stimulate Hector's brain by telling him positive things even while he's asleep. At night, Arturo and Nacho head over to the chicken farm to collect the next pickup of drugs, everything seems to be going well, but after the pickup is made, Nacho is held at gunpoint and Arturo is suffocated to death by Gus. Gus tells Nacho that he knows Nacho tried to poison Hector, and now Nacho is forced to work for Gus. ("Breathe")

As Hector lays unconscious in the hospital, Gus foreshadows the future relationship between himself and Hector with a story from his childhood, when he caught a coati in a trap that had been eating fruit from a lucuma tree Gus had been nursing back to health. The coati injured its leg trying to escape, so Gus kept the coati captured and allowed it to suffer until its death, rather than doing the humane thing by euthanizing it. ("Piñata")

Months later, Hector undergoes therapy to recover from his stroke under the care of the specialist. He is now able to communicate by tapping his finger, similar to how he would later ding his bell and purposefully knocks over a cup of water to stare at a nurse's butt as she cleans up the mess. After seeing the tape of the session, Gus decides to delegate Hector's care to someone else after the doctor suggests that with time, Hector could learn to talk and possibly even walk again. Gus tells the doctor that they should "temper our expectations" while in reality plotting to keep Hector from recovering too much. ("Something Stupid")

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Lalo gives Hector a bell as a gift

With his special treatment at the hospital interrupted and no one to take care of him, Hector is sent to Casa Tranquila. There, he is visited by his nephew Lalo and Nacho. Lalo addresses Hector, remembering an incident where the two of them burned down a hotel and tortured the proprietor for showing disrespect. Lalo goes on to say that he went back into the hotel as it was burning, and retrieved a souvenir that he has kept for years. He presents the souvenir to Hector as a gift: the bell from the hotel's front desk. Lalo ties the bell to the armrest of Hector's wheelchair, allowing him to ring it for the first time, then speaks to Hector in private about "the Chilean" before leaving with apparent new orders from the Don. ("Wiedersehen")

Season 5[]

Hector Salamanca "Bad Choice Road"

Hector's life at Casa Tranquila.

Lalo visits his Hector at Casa Tranquila and discusses Gus' mysterious new construction project. Lalo doesn't buy Gus' cover story about building a new chicken refrigeration facility and expresses disapproval that Don Juan Bolsa and Don Eladio Vuente seem to believe Gus. An eldercare worker reminds Lalo to keep Hector hydrated and hands him a "very berry" flavored drink. Lalo dumps some of it and adds liquor from a hip flask into the drink and serves it to Hector. Lalo tastes the drink and adds more liquor to it. ("50% Off")

As Lalo prepares to flee to Mexico, he visits Hector at Casa Tranquila and explains the situation to his distressed uncle and promises that he will have Don Eladio's ear and can make him sick of "the Chicken Man" from Mexico. Lalo assures Hector that Tuco will be released in eleven months and can take over then before reminding Hector that "family is everything." As Lalo leaves, Hector is clearly unhappy as he takes part in one of the resident's birthday parties. ("Bad Choice Road")

Season 6[]

Hector learns Lalo alive

Hector discovers his nephew is still alive

Hector is informed of the apparent death of Lalo, who was attacked by assassins secretly sent by Gus. However, he is delighted when he is covertly called by Lalo, who had faked his death. Lalo informs Hector that Gus was behind the attack on his compound, and that Lalo plans on returning to Albuquerque to exact revenge. Using his bell to communicate, Hector objects and asks whether Lalo can provide proof of his accusations; Lalo realizes that he knows exactly where to find it and hangs up, promising to be in contact soon. ("Wine and Roses")

Gus and Juan Bolsa later visit Hector in the nursing home. While Gus openly admits that he never got along with Lalo, Gus offers his condolences for the apparent death of Hector's nephew; both he and Bolsa promise to aid the Salamanca family in avenging him. Hector—not telling him that he has already been in contact with Lalo—shakes Gus's hand, but uncharacteristically looks him in the eyes while doing so, unwittingly revealing his nephew's survival to Gus. ("Carrot and Stick")

Hector learns the Truth

Hector learns the truth about his stroke

Outside of Hector's desert shack, Hector joins the Cousins and in interrogating Nacho Varga about the assassination attempt on Lalo. While Nacho claims that he was hired by the Alvarez drug family. Hector, knowing the truth, indicates his suspicion of Gus. However, Nacho refuses to budge and insists that he was paid by Alvarez. Disgusted by everyone around him, Nacho makes a full confession to his role in the assassination attempt on Lalo before turning on Hector and confessing to switching out Hector's heart meds and causing his stroke.

Nacho taunts an increasingly furious Hector that he was "dead and buried" until Gus saved him and that Hector will now have to think about Nacho for the rest of his miserable life. Nacho suddenly breaks free and takes Juan hostage before ultimately killing himself in front of his shocked audience. As the others leave following Nacho's suicide, Hector has his nephews carry him over to Nacho's corpse. Taking a gun from one of the Cousins, Hector unloads it into Nacho's body in revenge. ("Rock and Hard Place")

Upon his return to the city, Lalo became aware that Gus was monitoring his uncle's phone lines and decided to give Gus a false lead on his whereabouts. Hector soon receives another call from Lalo, who tells Hector he could not find any proof that Gus was responsible for his attack and that he is going back to "Plan A", which entails striking at Gus that night. Hector furiously rings his bell in protest, but Lalo bids his uncle farewell and hangs up. ("Plan and Execution")

When Hector does not hear from Lalo again, Hector realized that he did not survive his encounter with Gus. He has the Cousins take him to Mexico so he can meet with Don Eladio. By writing a letter for Bolsa to read, Hector tells Eladio that Lalo survived the attempt on his life and has since been killed by Gus. However, as Lalo's decoy body matched Lalo's dental records and the Cousins did not witness Lalo's calls to Hector, Eladio does not believe Hector and refuses his request to kill Gus. Hector furiously rang his bell in protest, which Eladio mocked him for before having the Cousins drag him away. ("Fun and Games")

Breaking Bad[]

Season 2[]

Following a crackdown on Tuco's drug operation by the Albuquerque DEA, Tuco brings Walter White and Jesse Pinkman to Hector's cottage in the desert, where Hector is residing. While Hector appears to be senile, fixated only on the television, he gradually reveals his mind is still sharp and he can ring his bell to communicate with his nephew. After he sees Walt put poison in Tuco's burrito, he rings the bell prompting Tuco to give it to him instead (thinking Hector wanted the bigger burrito), only for Hector to knock it to the floor and point murderously toward Walt.

Hector-hideout-2008

Hector while he lived in Tuco's hideout

He gets Tuco's attention again after the meal by continually ringing his bell. He communicates that he does not trust Walt and Jesse, and Tuco drags Jesse outside, beating him until Walt admits they tried to poison him. Tuco is then killed by Hank Schrader, who was searching for Walt and accidentally found Tuco's hideout. Although Walt and Jesse escape, as a result of this encounter Hector learns Walt's name and what Jesse looks like; Tuco had read their names out loud to him off their driver's licenses, and showed Hector a picture of Walt's family ("Grilled").

As the investigation into Tuco's death continues, Hank and Steven Gomez bring in Hector to see if he can confirm that Jesse was present at the shooting since his car was discovered there. Hector proves he is still cognizant of his surroundings by ringing his bell to simple questions, but when asked if Jesse was there he simply voids his bowels. Afterward, Gomez explains that Salamanca is an "old-school gangbang Mexican" who spent 17 years in prison without once cooperating with authorities, and they will get nothing from him even if it would incriminate Jesse ("Bit by a Dead Bee").

Season 3[]

With no one to take care of him anymore, Hector is moved back to Casa Tranquila. He is then visited by his nephews, Marco and Leonel. Familiar with the routine, they procure an Ouija board from a pile of board games and Hector uses his bell to spell out the letters of the real name of the meth cook the cartel knows only as "Heisenberg", the man that killed their cousin Tuco: Walter White. Marco and Leonel move to Walt's house to execute him immediately but are called off by a last-second text message: "POLLOS" ("Caballo Sin Nombre").

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Hector and The Cousins heading to a meeting with Gus

Following this incident, Bolsa arranges a meeting between Gus, Hector, Marco, Leonel and himself. Bolsa is clearly uncomfortable in the same room with Hector and his family, and it is only due to Hector's ill health that he agreed to mediate. He explains to Gus that Don Hector Salamanca saw Tuco as a son and groomed him to take his place in the organization and that Walt's betrayal of Tuco has earned him a death sentence sanctioned by the Salamanca family and the Cartel—an assertion Hector emphasizes with one ring of his bell. When Gus says that he needs Walt alive for the time being, Hector angrily rings his bell many times ("I.F.T.").

Gus eventually leads Marco and Leonel into trying to kill Hank instead of Walt ("Sunset"), but he anonymously warns Hank about the upcoming attack one minute before their arrival, so Hank has enough time to dispatch both brothers ("One Minute"). Marco dies instantly, Leonel is seriously injured and taken to the hospital, where he is finally put down by Mike Ehrmantraut on Gus' orders. The same night, the police raid Bolsa's mansion and he is accidentally killed in the process, it is later revealed that this was all orchestrated by Gus in his plan to avenge Max's death at the hands of the cartel ("I See You").

Season 4[]

In a flashback following the events of Marco, Leonel, and Juan Bolsa's deaths, Gus pays a visit to Hector in the nursing home. He victoriously describes to Hector how Marco and Leonel were killed, obviously pointing out that he was behind everything. He also reports about Juan Bolsa's death, and how the cartel cannot interfere in his business anymore because of the heat caused by Hector's nephews trying to attack a federal agent. The cartel is back after a long absence, attacking Gus' delivery trucks and ordering him to give their business north of the border back to them. Gus visits Hector again at the nursing home, he informs Hector that he has defied the Cartel's ultimatum and that Hank is looking into Gus's past. Gus leans in close to Hector. "Look at me, Hector," he commands, but Hector stubbornly refuses. "Maybe next time," taunts Gus, leaving Hector to silently rage in his chair ("Hermanos").

Salamanca family photo

A picture of Hector and his nephews along with Don Eladio's necklace

Gus travels to Mexico to give the cartel the formula of his successful product, the blue sky, but it was all part of his plan to poison all the major members of the cartel, including Don Eladio himself ("Salud"). After returning to New Mexico, Gus takes Jesse to meet Hector at the nursing home so they can tell him what has taken place: Don Eladio and all the others are dead. Gus also tells him that Jesse killed Joaquin Salamanca, Hector's grandson and his last relative who could continue the Salamanca family's legacy. Gus dangles Don Eladio's amulet necklace in Hector's face and says "look at me!" When Hector refuses, Gus places the necklace into the last Don's shirt pocket and leaves Hector to suffer with what he has just told him. ("Crawl Space").

Later on, Walt is desperately searching for a way to kill Gus before Gus could kill him. Through Jesse and Saul, Walt learns about Gus' rivalry with Hector and his torturing of Hector and sees an opportunity. Walt stops by the nursing home and convinces Hector to aid him in assassinating Gus as revenge, pointing out that as much as Hector despises Walt, he hates Gus even more. Hector agrees to join him. After going through the plan with Walt, Hector calls for a nurse and demands to talk to the DEA, specifically with Hank. He is taken to the DEA's office, where all the major agents of the Albuquerque Department are present to hear what he has to say. When Hank finally arrives and they can start their conversation, Hector does nothing but insult Hank, giving the DEA no information. However, the fact that Hector visited the DEA at all prompts Gus (who is under heavy investigation by the DEA and now believes Hector is an informant) to take one step ahead on his plan to avenge Max. Hector is brought back to his room in the nursing home and Walt appears and questions him if he has any second thoughts though Hector does not respond; he is determined to have his revenge. Tyrus Kitt, one of Gus' henchmen, pays a visit to Hector's room to make sure there are no bugs planted by the DEA and after finding nothing, calls Gus and reports. Gus then decides to come and finally kill Hector despite Tyrus' offer to do it himself.

4x13 FaceOff

Hector's final face-off with Gus

A few minutes later, Gus arrives in Hector's room. Gus calls Hector a "crippled little rata", and tells him that this is how he's going to be remembered. Hector is given the opportunity to look Gus in the eyes for the last time, which Hector stubbornly refuses once again. As Gus is about to inject Hector with a lethal medication, Hector finally looks him in the eyes. Gus is shocked by Hector's sudden display of bravery and he also notices that something is wrong when Hector musters up an expression of pure wrath and starts to ring his bell repeatedly, Gus realizes what is about to happen upon seeing a bomb attached to his wheelchair (planted by Walt after Tyrus left) and tries to run a bit too late: Hector's gives Gus a final stare and the bomb under his wheelchair explodes. Hector and Tyrus are instantly vaporized from the blast, while Gus is mortally wounded. A few seconds later, Gus steps out of the room and adjusts his tie, and it is revealed that half of Gus' face was blown off, with him falling to the ground, dead ("Face Off"). Although Hector himself is killed, he gets his long-awaited revenge against Gus for the death of his nephews, his grandson, Juan Bolsa, Don Eladio and all of his cartel allies, while at the same time ruining the vengeance Gus had personally sought against him for two decades. His actions also lead to the destruction of Gus' own drug empire ("Madrigal",  "Fifty-One").

Season 5[]

As Hank is going through old evidence documents, he briefly comes across a picture of Hector ("Blood Money").

Personality[]

"Same old Hector. Just wants to kill everybody."
Lalo after speaking with Hector.[src]
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Hector in 2009.

As a high ranking member of the Cartel, Hector is an overall cold, cruel and sadistic man who ranks as one of the most feared and dangerous operatives of the Cartel. Hector's loyalty to the Cartel is so strong that he refused to cooperate once with the authorities while spending 17 years in prison for Cartel-related activities and even refused to tell the DEA, one of the Cartel's primary enemies, of Jesse Pinkman's presence at his residence after he and Walter White were taken hostage by Hector's nephew Tuco and indirectly caused him to be killed. Hector's hatred and disrespect of the DEA is very evident as he defecates instead of answering their questions and openly insulted Hank Schrader during his last meeting with them. Despite his loyalty and devotion to the Cartel, it is seen that Hector isn't completely happy that Eladio Vuente is the top leader of the Cartel. He openly insults Eladio and refuses to follow his orders when Eladio wants Gus to handle all Cartel's drug smuggling operations instead of Hector. He also claims that the Salamanca family built the Cartel with their money and blood, unlike Eladio or Bolsa.

Hector is a very prideful and arrogant man. He likes to have the control, power and authority about the drug business all by himself. Therefore, he gets easily annoyed when someone hurt or insult his ego. His lust for power is so great that he is fully capable of hurting, manipulating or threatening others. Although he is an elderly man, he is unable to control his reactions, especially when he is enraged. Hector can be very imposing and frightening, this has made him very feared. He is also incredibly selfish and stubborn, he doesn't listen to reasons and refuses to talk with anyone who tries to convince him about a point of view opposite of Hector's with he does not agree. Even after Nacho tried to convince him about not taking over his father's business Hector didn't listen and, instead, he told him not to worry because he would take care of his father and give him money enough to not working for the rest of his life, but when he initially refused to accept Hector's money, immediately distrusted Nacho's father. Due to having a heart disease, Hector is often seen taking pills which help him to stabilize his health and heart rate, and this would eventually cause him to suffer a stroke and put him in a wheelchair. Before his suicide, Nacho admitted to a furious Hector that he caused his paralysis, with Hector later firing several rounds of bullets into Nacho's corpse.

Hector is also shown to be a completely remorseless, cold-blooded murderer who will kill anyone he is ordered to as shown when he mercilessly killed Max Arciniega on Don Eladio's orders and also anyone whom he views as a threat to his own goals as revealed when he killed a completely innocent bystander for helping one of his drivers after he was tied up and robbed by Mike. It appears that he is not above killing children either as he threatened Mike that he would send his nephews to kill his daughter-in-law and young granddaughter after Mike demanded money from him. Hector occasionally is shown to have a sick, twisted sense of humor as shown during interactions with Max and Gus, and also Mike.

Despite his cruel and sadistic nature, Hector appears to care deeply for his family, most notably his nephews whom he personally raised to be loyal to the Cartel just like himself. Hector seems to value family very much as he taught his young nephews Marco and Leonel a brutal lesson of the importance of family by attempting to drown Marco until Leonel fought hard enough to save him. It is also revealed that he thought of Tuco as a son and was devastated so strongly by his death that he sent Marco and Leonel to exact revenge on Walter White for his part in Tuco's death, though the two would fail at this task. Hector was also devastated by the deaths of Marco and Leonel during their attempt to kill Hank, and was also devastated by the death of his grandson Joaquin, his last remaining relative.

Hector had a barely concealed hatred for Gus from the moment he met him. He joyfully killed Max as revenge for Gus' actions of manipulating Eladio into a meeting, and deeply hated the Cartel's decision to work with him. Hector's hatred of Gus was so strong that he, with the help of Walter White, killed Gus as revenge for the deaths of his Cartel allies and family members by suicide bombing him and killing himself in the process.

Deaths[]

Murders committed by Hector[]

Murders connected to Hector[]

Quotes[]

Better Call Saul[]

Quotes by Hector[]

Hector: "He really did a number on you."
Mike: "Sorry, I know you?"
Hector: "The young man who did that to you is my nephew. Hothead. Always has been. He thinks he's a boxer. He should have shown you respect. I apologize to you on behalf of my family."
―Hector apologizing with Mike for Tuco's "assault" on him.[src]

Hector: "Tomorrow, you go to the district attorney, and you explain to him that my nephew's gun was yours. The D.A will ask you, "Why you didn't say anything before?" You tell him you forgot, you were rattled, make up anything you want. I don't give a shit. But it's your gun."
Mike: "Let's discuss my payment."
Hector: "Mm-mmm, that time is past. No five thousand for you."
Mike: "The price is fifty."
Hector: "How about your payment is you get to live?"
Mike: "Not enough."
―Negotiations between Mike and Hector.[src]

"Oh, you think you can negotiate with me? I say the word, my nephews go to a certain motel, pay a visit to your daughter-in-law and your little granddaughter. What do you think happens then? Consider your position carefully."
―Hector threatening Mike.[src]

Hector: "You willing to die for this?"
Mike: "Maybe I need the fifty thousand more than you."
―Hector and Mike

"I told you, right? Giant balls. How you manage to live so long with a mouth like that, hmm? Fifty thousand. And the gun is yours."
―Hector's final negotiation with Mike

Gustavo: "Don Hector, mine is a cartel business, but it is mine. And it is legitimate. My employees are civilians. Your actions here today have endangered them, my interests, and those of the cartel."
Hector: "I am the cartel, and from now on you are my mule. You are going to bring my product north."
―Gus and Hector.[src]

Arturo: "Leonel talked to our guy in Los Lunas. Looks like Tuco knived a guy, but he definitely broke the guard's jaw. They got him in solitary."
Hector: "WHAT?! All he had to do was six months! He'll be in there FOREVER!"
―Hector's reaction after learning of Tuco's extended prison sentence.[src]

"Fuck Eladio! Fuck Bolsa! And fuck you!"
―Hector losing his temper after the Cartel decided to exclusively use Gus's distribution network.

Nacho: "I'll talk to him. He'll come around."
Hector: "I don't trust him."
―Nacho and Hector about Nacho's father.[src]

Hector: "The boss can suck me."
Juan Bolsa: "I'd watch what I say if I were you."
Hector: "Who you think you are? You should be kissing my ass right now. Me and my family. We built this whole business."
Juan Bolsa: "We all did. Together."
Hector: "No, no! Salamanca did! Salamanca money! Salamanca blood!"
―Hector and Juan Bolsa arguing over the orders of Don Eladio.[src]

"IT IS! IT IS PERSONAL-!!"
―Hector's furious breakdown towards Juan Bolsa, also his last words ever spoken before his stroke.

"These are Don Hector's words. Dictated to Leonel and Marco, letter by letter. The assault on my nephew's hacienda failed. Lalo fought the assassins and won. The day after the attack, Lalo called me. I heard the truth from his own lips. It was Fring who sent the mercenaries, not the Peruvians. We kept Lalo's survival a secret. My nephew was about to take his revenge on the traitor, face-to-face. Instead, he disappeared. It is the Chicken Man's doing. Don Eladio, look into Fring's eyes. There you will see the truth. The Chicken Man hates you. He is our enemy. He plots against us. I demand blood for blood."
―Hector's accusations against Gus as read out by Juan Bolsa.[src]


Quotes about Hector[]

"The doctor tells me your fever has gotten worse. They say this infection may kill you. Even if it doesn't, my doctor tells me again and again that you may never wake. And yet, I wait. I grew up quite poor. We lived in the hills. In a place my brothers built from things they found. Metal sheeting, plywood. When it rained, it smelled like hay. We were always hungry. But there was a lucuma tree. Scrawny. Barely alive. My family had given up on it years before. Never bore fruit. When I was seven, I became fixated on it. I watered it, tended to it. It took a long time, but the buds grew into green fruit. I was so proud. I didn't tell anyone. I plucked one and hid behind our shack. I ate the whole thing, I'd never tasted something so sweet. It was like caramel. At first, we ate the fruit ourselves. And then I began taking it to the village to sell. One day, much of the fruit was gone from my tree. Pieces were scattered on the ground, half-eaten. I thought it was probably a coati. Have you ever seen one? About the size of a large house cat. Opportunists. I built a snare, using branches and wire. It didn't take long for the animal to set it off. But the coati trashed so hard it broke out of the snare. Broke its leg as well. I tried to grab it, but it slipped away. It ran under the house. I knew it would show itself sooner or later. So I waited, for hours, into the night. When my brothers called for me, I did not answer. I didn't make a sound. I was so still. Finally, it came out. It knew I was there, but it was hungry. This time, I was ready. I caught it. It fought me, but I was stronger. The merciful thing would've been to kill it. I kept it. It lived for quite some time. I believe you will wake, Hector."
―Gus's plan regarding Hector.[src]

"And you know what else, Hector? I put you in that chair. Oh, yeah. Your heart meds? I switched them for sugar pills. You were dead and buried, and I had to watch this asshole bring you back. So when you are sitting in your shitty nursing home, and you're suckin' down on your Jell-O night after night for the rest of your life, you think of me, you twisted fuck!"
―Nacho insulting Hector before his suicide.

"Hector? Yeah, I kept him alive. Kept him broken. I will save him for the last. Before he dies, he will know that I buried every one of you."
―Gus confessing to Lalo his feud with Hector.

Breaking Bad[]

Quotes by Hector[]

"We're supposed to trust him with our product? Big man. Big Generalissimo! Big fry cook is more like it.. The "Chicken Man". You will do what you want. But you have my vote. Never trust a South American. Dirty, dirty people."
―Hector to Eladio about making business with Gus in 1989.[src]

"Look at him. You did this to him. Now, look at him. (...) My advice... Stick to chicken."
―Hector to Gus after murdering his partner in 1989.[src]

"S-U-C-K M-Y—[D-I-C-K]; F-U-C—[K-Y-O-U]"
―Hector's last translated words[src]


Quotes about Hector[]

"I told you, numbnuts. This guy's OG. (...) Kept his mouth shut for 17 years in San Quentin. Stroke or no stroke, old-school gangbang Mexicans don't help feds."
―Steve Gomez describing Hector to Hank after failing to get information from him regarding Jesse.[src]

"Hello, Hector. All of them, Hector. Don Eladio. Don Paco. Cesar. Renaldo. Artuno. Cisco and Luis. Escalara. All dead. As is your grandson, Joaquin. Do you know who killed Joaquin? Would you like to see? This young man. Do you remember him? That young man shot Joaquin to death while I made my escape. I believe you have met him before. It was just you and Joaquin. He was the only family you had left. Now the Salamanca name dies with you. Will you look at me now? Look at me, Hector. Look at me."
Gustavo Fring to Hector after poisoning the Cartel.[src]

"I know you despise me. And I know how badly you want to see me dead. But I'm willing to bet that I know a man whom you hate even more. I'm offering you an opportunity for revenge."
Walter White offering Hector an opportunity to kill Gus[src]

"What kind of man talks to the DEA? No man. No man at all. A crippled little rata. What a reputation to leave behind. Is that how you want to be remembered? Last chance to look at me, Hector."
―Gustavo Fring's final words to Hector before both of them and Tyrus Kitt are killed in a suicide bomb set off by Hector.[src]


Appearances[]

Breaking Bad[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5A
Season 5B

Better Call Saul[]

Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6

Trivia[]

  • Hector and Lalo are the only Salamancas who were ever referred to as Dons, implying they're the highest ranked in their family.
    • They are also the only Salamancas to kill a main character, with Hector killing Gustavo Fring and Lalo killing Howard Hamlin respectively.
  • Hector is the last member of the Salamanca family who died. He is also the only one who died via suicide while the rest of the members were killed via homicide.
  • Hector is also the member of the Salamanca family with the most televised appearances, as he appeared in 30 episodes in the overall Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul timeline.
  • Mark Margolis based Hector's facial expressions primarily on his mother-in-law who had suffered a stroke.
  • Hector was originally supposed to be the main antagonist of Breaking Bad Season 3.
    • He eventually became one of the two main antagonists of Better Call Saul Seasons 2 and 3.
  • Hector's bell sold for $26,750 at auction on October 8, 2013.
  • Before he became disabled, Hector drove a 1960 Chevrolet Impala.
  • In episode "I.F.T.", Gus and Juan Bolsa address Hector by incorrectly calling him Don Salamanca, instead of Don Hector. This is an error that Vince Gilligan admitted after the end of Breaking Bad and would like to correct.
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