It was a stroke. This was revealed in the 2nd season when he and Jesse are reunited after Hank shot Tuco.
Hector's Disability Came From Gus Fring's Act Of Revenge
He emptied the pill capsules and refilled them with ibuprofen, which could increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke. The spiked pills finally worked during a drug cartel meeting. Hector suffered a stroke but Gus saved him by using CPR.
During the fiery three-way desert showdown between Nacho, Gus Fring, and the Salamancas in Better Call Saul season 6's "Rock & Hard Place," Nacho gleefully admitted to Hector's face that he was responsible for putting the indomitable mob boss in a wheelchair.
Hector is a former drug agent who worked for Don Eladio. His family members are very involved in the drug business. After an unexplained incident, he's left paralyzed in most of his body and can't speak or move on his own. His only means of communication is the bell on his wheelchair.
As such, he is paralyzed and unable to speak as a result of a stroke (portrayed in Better Call Saul), and uses a brass service bell taped onto his wheelchair armrest to communicate.
Better Call Saul season 6's "Carrot & Stick" speaks to Gus Fring's awesome instincts, not only knowing a visit to Hector Salamanca was the best method of confirming whether the Lalo assassination stuck, but also getting exactly the cues he wanted from their conversation.
Hank drops by the office to see Tio. Tio starts to spell out "Suck my" before they stop him.
Eduardo 'Lalo' Salamanca
Pretty much from the word go, Lalo cements himself as not only the smartest of the Salamanca family but as one of the best and most intelligent villains of either series also.
Lalo is one of many nephews of Hector Salamanca, an enforcer of Don Eladio Vuente's drug cartel. After Hector suffers a stroke, Lalo arrives from Mexico to help run the family drug operation in Albuquerque and takes a greater interest in the day-to-day details than Hector did.
Because they knew that Hank was the one who killed their cousin Tuco Salamanca. Although Walter was involved in his death, but Gus manipulated them which led them trying to kill Hank.
Nacho is a quiet and intelligent member of the Salamanca drug organization. He cares deeply for the well-being of his honest, hard-working father, Manuel. He befriends Jimmy McGill after Jimmy helps clear him of kidnapping charges.
Gus Fring's verbal beat-down also confirms (if it wasn't already clear) that the real reason he didn't let Hector die from a heart attack in Better Call Saul season 3 was because he wanted the Salamanca patriarch to watch everything and everyone he loved die before kicking the bucket himself.
Hector then finally looks at Gus and dings his bell rapidly but the bell is hollow. Walt planted his car bomb under Hector's chair and the bell was being used as a trigger. As soon as Gus realized this the bomb exploded and Gus walked out with half his face off before he collapses and dies. Walter White Jr.
When Lalo gave him the bell that symbolizes power, it gave Hector the feeling like he was in control again. It was not just a form of communication for Hector; it was a reminder of his past, who Hector Salamanca used to be. and Better Call Saul episode 409 Wiedersehen.
Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis) is ranked fifth because of his condition in the Breaking Bad series. He is confined to a wheelchair, and must ring a bell to speak. He could be meaner and more evil if he were physically able.
A member of the Salamanca family, Lalo is the grandson of Abuelita and one of Don Hector's nephews, having four cousins who are also involved in criminal activities within the Salamanca drug operation in the cartel: his main cousin and fellow distributor Tuco, his hitmen cousins Marco and Leonel, and his first cousin ...
However, it is this silence that stops the characters from working as compelling antagonists. Leonel and Marco are introduced after the death of their cousin, Tuco Salamanca, at the hands of DEA Agent Hank Schrader.
Hector named him Scamandrius after the River Scamander, near Troy. The Trojans named him Astyanax (“Lord of the City”) as the son of Troy's greatest warrior.
Indeed, Gus not maintaining control is not something we frequently see. And The Mandalorian star says Lalo poses the same threat to Gus that Gus has posed to others, making him Gus's ultimate threat. “I don't like loose cannons. I don't like loose cannons who can't control themselves.
Up to this point, Gus is portrayed as the smartest person on the show, matched only by Walter White in Breaking Bad. In spite of this, Lalo is able to believably outmaneuver him at nearly every turn.
He called himself ASAC (Assistant Special Agent in Charge) because it was his title, and it emphasized his duty to his job and country.
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.
After Walt has left, Hector calls a nurse and spells out a message: "Need DEA". Later, Gomez visits Hank, who tells him that Hector will speak exclusively with him.