
Tuco Salamanca (22 March 1970 - 8 November 2008) was a Mexican drug trafficker affiliated with the Juarez Cartel who operated out of Albuquerque during the 2000s. He represented Juarez's operations north of the American border, and he was killed in a shootout with the DEA in 2008.
Biography[]
Tuco Salamanca was born in Mexico on March 22nd 1970, the nephew of Hector Salamanca and the cousin of Lalo, Marco, Leonel, and Joaquin Salamanca. He became an associate of the Juarez Cartel, forming a crew of drug traffickers in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Salamanca became known for his mental instability, which often showed whenever he was high on meth. In 2008, he took over the Albuquerque distribution network after Krazy-8's death, and he attempted to steal $35,000 worth of meth from Jesse Pinkman after noticing its purity. Walter White later headed to Salamanca's apartment and forced him to pay him $50,000 (the original price, plus $15,000 in compensation for Pinkman's injuries) after blowing up his apartment room with unstable mercury. Salamanca gave White the money and agreed to buy two pounds of meth from him within a few weeks, but he instead had White kidnapped and attempted to force him to cook meth for the cartel. However, White and Pinkman escaped, and DEA agent Hank Schrader - who had been pursuing Pinkman after following a tracker on his car - ultimately shot and killed Tuco after a brief shootout.