Salazar's rep and closest friend, Ann Wingsong, tells TMZ ... the actor passed away in his sleep at his friend's Brooklyn home over the weekend.

On Sunday morning, Wingsong said, the friend went to check on Salazar in a room and found his body in bed. A cause of death was not disclosed, but the rep said Salazar suffered from heart issues.

Early in his acting career, Salazar landed the role of Chi Chi, the devoted henchman of Pacino's famous Tony Montana character in the 1983 Brian DePalma-directed film "Scarface."

Fans of the legendary movie will never forget Chi Chi saving Tony's life during the so-called "chainsaw scene." They will also never forget Chi Chi's bloody demise at the end of the flick when his back gets riddled with bullets from a hit squad hired by drug kingpin Alejandro Sosa.

Of course, Tony Montana also goes down in hail of bullets at the hands of Sosa's gun-wielding assassins.

Outside of his work in "Scarface," Salazar was also known for working opposite Tom Hanks in the 1988 dramedy, "Punchline" and Pacino again in 1993 drama, "Carlito's Way."

Salazar was also a celebrated comedian, who had a number of HBO comedy specials and an appearance on "Last Comic Standing."

Other notable credits include "Boulevard Nights," "Walk Proud," "Hot to Trot," "Maniac Cop 2," among other titles.

He was 69 years old.