Armando Salazar

In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the key plot driver is Captain Salazar's curse and the search for the Trident of Poseidon.

The film opens with a young Henry Turner learning from his father (Will, captain of the Flying Dutchman) that the Trident can lift any sea curse. Nine years later, a grown Henry serves on a British ship—and it finds itself in the Devil's Triangle, where it is attacked by the Silent Mary, commanded by the ghostly captain Armando Salazar. Salazar spares Henry to deliver news of his coming revenge to Jack Sparrow: young Jack had once tricked the Silent Mary into the Triangle, resulting in the deaths of Salazar and his crew, who became cursed ghosts.

The turning point: Jack Sparrow trades his magical compass for a drink. This breaks the Triangle's barrier, and Salazar breaks free. His goal is not only to kill Jack, but to exterminate all pirates with the Trident.

In parallel, the storyline of Carina Smyth, an astronomer believed to be a witch, develops; she possesses a diary containing clues to the Trident's location. Henry finds Jack and persuades him to help; Carina later joins them.

Hector Barbossa, learning of Salazar's threat, first tries to negotiate his own escape, then teams up with Jack: it turns out that Carina is his daughter. Together, they sail the Black Pearl to the island where the Trident is hidden. Using the island's stars and magic, the heroes part the ocean and reach the artifact.

Salazar, possessing Henry, also reaches the Trident, but at the crucial moment, Henry shatters it, dispelling all the sea curses. Salazar returns to life but dies immediately. In the finale, Will is freed from the Flying Dutchman's curse and reunites with Elizabeth; Henry and Carina remain together. Importantly, the post-credits scene hints at the return of Davy Jones.