De Salas studied law in Madrid and obtained a PhD in Economic History at La Sorbonne in Paris.
He began to engage in anti-Francoist activities, and in 1961 joined the Free Spanish Press Agency, associated with the People's Liberation Front.
[2] In 1962, when police arrested nearly a hundred members of the organization, de Salas had to seek political asylum.
In 1998 he launched the satirical weekly El gato encerrado,[5] but it failed for lack of funding and De Salas gave up all entrepreneurial activities.
He adopted Colombian dual citizenship, for which he was entitled for his years of work there and as a reminder of the country that welcomed him during his exile.