Daniel Salazar (Fear)

"She was nine years old when she first asked me about the war and why we came to America. I told her everything except which man was me. Do you think she will understand... that it was necessary then... to survive? That it is necessary again?"

- Daniel to Madison Clark, sharing dark information of his past

Daniel Salazar is a main character in AMC's Fear The Walking Dead.

Description
Daniel Salazar was born and raised in the war-ridden El Salvador. He left his country after the war and emigrated to Los Angeles, California, with his wife Griselda. Daniel once served as a soldier of the Salvadoran junta and carried out torture operations for them, something he is obviously not proud of - as he didn't do it out of ideology but to survive - but would do again if necessary. He owns and operates a barber shop. He has raised an "American" daughter in the hopes that she would not have to become what he had and that she would remain innocent throughout her life. He also keeps to himself and his family, distrusting strangers.

El Salvador/Los Angeles, California
In his home country of El Salvador, he met and married Griselda. In the Salvadoran Civil War of 1980's, he joined the ranks of the Junta, probably coerced behind a gunpoint with options to enlist or be killed. After the war, he emigrated to America, owning and operating a barber shop. Some time later, he had a daughter named Ofelia. He vowed that she would not have to do what he did in order to survive.

"So Close, Yet So Far"
When a riot erupts after the people of Los Angeles think the police are randomly killing people, unaware of how the the emerging infection spreads and affects people, Travis Manawa, Liza Ortiz, and their son Chris Manawa, enter a shop. Inside, they find Daniel and his family. Daniel orders them to leave, but is persuaded by his wife Griselda to keep them inside due to the riot outside.

"The Dog"
Daniel appears with his family. After a short conversation, Chris notes that the walls are burning, and all six realize that they need to leave. Daniel opens the door, letting looters come in but they leave the six alone. They make a run to Travis's truck, where on the way Griselda is pinned by collapsed scaffolding after riot officers unleash a high-pressure hose on it. After getting to the truck, they head to a nearby hospital but find that it is overrun with the infected, with the National Guard shooting the infected patients coming out of the hospital. Travis suggests to go to another hospital, but Daniel declines and asks him to go to his house, as the other hospitals would most likely be overrun also. He plans to use Travis' phone in their house so he can contact his cousin to pick them up tomorrow.

After heading inside Travis' house, they are attacked by an undead Peter Dawson. Daniel grabs the shotgun and kills him. After watching Travis drag Peter's body out, he suggests burning it but Travis declines, and immediately Daniel knows it is because Peter was a good friend of Travis. He watches as Travis' girlfriend Madison Clark is about to kill a zombified Susan Tran, but stops after Travis persuades her not to, and mutters that she is "weak" as a result.

When the National Guard arrives at the neighborhood, Daniel peers out a window and says that "it's already too late".

"Not Fade Away"
Dr. Bethany Exner examines Griselda and decides that she needs surgery in a military medical facility outside in order to save her foot. Daniel insists that he will go with Griselda, to which Bethany readily agrees.

Madison tells Daniel about what she saw outside the curfew zone. Daniel tells Madison about how naive he found his father to be and why he mistrusts governments, and then asks Madison to promise to look after Ofelia if for any reason they do not return.

As Ofelia says her farewells to her parents, Daniel tells her that he can't guess how long he will be away. At the last moment, however, Daniel is denied leave and the soldiers take Nicholas instead. Liza is reluctantly convinced to go with the soldiers as well.

"Cobalt"
Daniel first appears when Madison thinks that her daughter Alicia is at the Trans' house again after finding Mrs. Tran's suicide note. Madison opens a door to find Ofelia and Daniel, who have kidnapped Andrew Adams, a soldier with whom Ofelia previously flirted. Daniel supposedly agrees to Ofelia's decision to use him as a hostage to free Griselda and Madison's son Nick. But when she leaves, Daniel tells Madison that he is going to torture him instead as he believes the army will not exchange and ignores her suggestion for a peaceful method.

Daniel talks with Adams about the war in the 80s and what he did to keep both himself and Griselda alive. He takes out some shaves, which Adams immediately recognizes as a torture attempt and discloses her location in an attempt to avoid being tortured. Daniel does not stop there and flays his arm. He knows that Adams is a good person and tells him that the deeper he goes, the more sensitive the nerve becomes, resulting in more pain. He demands to know what the code "Cobalt" means as from his radio, he notes that the word is said often.

Adams tells him more about his experience with the infected and how he still hears the screams of those in the arena. After Ofelia sees what he does to him, she leaves the house crying, and he tells Madison that she will be unable to understand why he had to torture him. Madison then asks if they got the information they needed, possibly surprising him as he thought of her as "weak".

After Adams relays his story about the civilians in the arena to Travis, Daniel goes to the arena to validate his story. As he approaches the doors, the herd of infected inside senses his presence and begins banging on the doors.

"The Good Man"
Daniel and Ofelia have an argument about the situation with Andrew. She says that he lied to her, but Daniel challenges this by stating that he was protecting her. Daniel's past activities in El Salvador are brought up, and he claims that he did what was necessary to survive and that he kept Ofelia in the dark to protect her.

Daniel wants to kill Andrew, but Travis talks him out of it and convinces him to take Andrew with them instead, pointing out that he will be helpful in finding Griselda's exact location.

As the three families leave in three different vehicles, Daniel has to briefly step out in order to open the gates, which have been left unguarded as the soldiers took their leave.

Andrew convinces Travis to release him, arguing that he can tell him where to find Ofelia and Nicholas and that Daniel will kill him if given the chance.

Daniel later walks casually towards the command post and seeks the sentinels' attention. They order him to stop and threaten to shoot, but he advises them to spare their ammunition, a puzzling statement that is shortly clarified when the infected from the arena are seen following him. Daniel has released some two thousand undead, forcing the soldiers into defense and creating a distraction for his party.

At the medical facility, Ofelia, Daniel, Madison, and Travis search for Nick. They come across his holding cell, but he isn't there. They continue to search for Nick, until they discover him trapped behind some locked doors, trying to get away from incoming infected. Liza reunites with the group, trying and succeeding to unlock the doors with her key card.

As the group escapes from the mess hall, Daniel and Ofelia stop Liza to find out where Griselda is. Liza has trouble answering, and Daniel realizes that Griselda is dead. Liza says that everything that could be done was and that she is sorry. Continuing to flee, Daniel and Ofelia soon pass through a pile of human cinders on the outside that they can't help but see as the resting place of Ofelia. Daniel does his best to comfort Ofelia as she starts crying.

Shortly thereafter, the group returns to the parking space where they left the three cars. Alicia and Christopher are there, but their car was taken away by a few soldiers in the meantime. Andrew reappears and threatens Daniel with a gun. Ofelia tries to talk Andrew out of shooting him, but he instead shoots her in the arm.

Travis beats Andrew viciously in return, while Liza tends to Ofelia's gunshot wound, successfully stabilizing her.

The group enters the two remaining vehicles and heads east, Daniel in the back of the truck with Liza and Ofelia. At Strand's house, Daniel is instructed by Liza to change Ofelia's bandages regularly and told that the wound is clotting. Daniel hears the gunshot that killed Liza as he sits with a sleeping Ofelia.

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Daniel has killed:
 * Peter Dawson (Zombified)
 * Williams (Indirectly Caused)
 * Melvin Allen (Indirectly Caused)
 * Shih (Indirectly Caused)
 * Bethany Exner (Assumed; Indirectly Caused)
 * Hector Ramirez (Assumed; Indirectly Caused)
 * Elizabeth Ortiz (Indirectly Caused) 
 * Possibly many Salvadoran citizens, activists and guerilla warriors (Pre Apocolypse)
 * Many unnamed soldiers and Los Angeles citizens (Indirectly Caused)
 * A few zombies

Griselda Salazar
Daniel is Griselda's husband, and the couple trust each other greatly. Griselda tells Ofelia that even though his decisions may seem wrong, he has always guided them the right way, such as surviving the grim Salvadoran civil war in the 80's by joining the ranks of junta. Daniel shows concern when Griselda is taken away by the National Guard, as he remarks that people who go on trucks "don't come back".

Ofelia Salazar
Daniel sees Ofelia, his only daughter, as the "purest" being he had ever seen. He mentions this to Andrew Adams when he begins to torture him to get information on "Cobalt". He does argue with her once in a while over their decisions, as when she suggests to go with Travis and his group, he declines and says they'll be staying in here until his cousin comes to pick them up. Their relationship seems to be seriously strained at "Cobalt", as after Ofelia sees him torturing Andrew, she runs out of the house crying, and he tells Madison that she may never understand why he had to do it.

Andrew Adams
They seem to have a poor relationship. However, Daniel sees him as a good person since he is aware he has a relationship with his daughter. In addition, he discloses information about the civil war in the 80s and what he had to do to survive to him. After Adams shoots Ofelia, however, it can be assumed that Daniel detests him and was not opposed to Travis's assault of him.

Madison Clark
Aside from familial relationships, Madison and Daniel seemingly have the strongest relationship out of anyone in the main group. Even though they first encounter each other in a scene Madison's living room that sees Daniel killing Peter Dawson, Madison is rather open to his ways quickly. This is contrasted by how eager Travis is to not agree with Daniel's methods. After Madison escapes the Safe Zone for a brief venture out into the Dead Zone, she openly confides in Daniel what she saw. Their relationship is further strengthened when Madison allows Daniel to torture Andrew Adams in order to get information on Nick and Griselda's whereabouts. By the end of the first season, it appears as if Madison and Daniel have developed a sense of trust between each other.

Liza Ortiz
"Liza, where is my wife?"

- Daniel to Liza about Griselda's whereabouts.

Daniel and Liza always got along when seen together. This is probably because Liza was always a great help to his family in terms of medical care. When Daniel's wife was taken away, Daniel was extremely worried, but presumably rested a little easier knowing that Liza was with her at the medical facility. At the facility, Daniel asked Liza where his wife was and got some bad news, but Liza tried to comfort him and Ofelia by assuring him that she was put in good hands and got the best medical care possible. She also stated how sorry she was for his loss. After Ofelia was shot by Andrew, Liza did everything she could to medically help his daughter and assured him that she would get better. He thanked her for her help. Daniel was absent when Liza died, but heard the gunshot that ended her life.

Season 1

 * "So Close, Yet So Far"
 * "The Dog"
 * "Not Fade Away"
 * "Cobalt"
 * "The Good Man"

Trivia

 * The casting call for this character used the name Salvador Pena.
 * As a Hispanic first-generation immigrant who was not born and educated in the U.S., he was surprisingly fluent in both English and his mother tongue Spanish.
 * With a comparatively large estimated population of the military base, by unleashing a horde of 2,000 into it, Daniel becomes one of the characters that killed most people onscreen either intentionally or indirectly, together with Carol Peletier and Philip Blake.