He is a Chilean-American businessman and major narcotics distributor in the Southwestern United States who uses several legitimate businesses, including a chain of successful fast food restaurants called Los Pollos Hermanos (The Chicken Brothers) and an industrial laundry facility called Lavandería Brillante (Bright Laundry), as fronts used to launder money for a vast drug operation.

Though outwardly he works with a Mexican cartel to distribute cocaine, he secretly plots revenge against its members over the death of his business associate and romantic partner Maximino "Max" Arciniega at the hands of his sworn archenemy Hector Salamanca, the patriarch of the cartel-backed drug trade in the Southwest.

Gus was created as a character to replace that of Tuco Salamanca (played by departing actor Raymond Cruz) during the second season of Breaking Bad.

The character has received high acclaim, with critics hailing Gus as one of the best villains in television; as such, Esposito's performance in the role has earned him several nominations and awards.

[3] To achieve Gus's trademark calmness, Esposito used yoga techniques, which allowed him to convey the character as being "a very good listener".

[10] Gus has a mysterious background; his name is likely an alias, since neither the DEA nor his own enforcer Mike Ehrmantraut could find any record of him prior to his arrival in Mexico.

In the Better Call Saul episode "Piñata", he tells a comatose Hector a story about a coati that ate the fruit from a lúcuma tree which he tended during his childhood in Chile.

[11] In the Better Call Saul episode "Magic Man", Lalo Salamanca refers to a mysterious incident involving Gus which took place in Santiago.

[13] In a flashback during the Breaking Bad episode "One Minute", Hector mockingly refers to him as "Big Generalissimo", implying that Gus had a connection to the Pinochet regime.

Gus maintains a positive public image: he is a booster for Albuquerque civic causes, including the local Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office.

[12] As shown in the Better Call Saul episode "Dedicado a Max", after arriving in Albuquerque, Gus acquired a small villa on the Mexican side of the Mexico–U.S.

[18] Gus's homosexuality is touched on in the episode "Fun and Games", in which he relaxes after having eliminated Lalo as a threat to his plans by visiting a wine bar and conversing with David, his favorite sommelier.

[13] For the next 20 years, Gus remains outwardly loyal to the cartel but nurses a grudge against Eladio, Juan Bolsa, and particularly Hector, waiting for his chance at revenge.

After establishing himself in Albuquerque, Gus secretly looks to end his dependency on cartel cocaine by producing and distributing meth in the United States.

However, Gus encourages Mike to continue to disrupt the trucks Hector uses to bring ice cream store supplies and drugs from Mexico and send cash back to the cartel.

Instead, he asks for assistance laundering the $250,000 he stole from one of Hector's trucks, which Gus provides by arranging for Madrigal Electromotive to hire Mike as a contracted security expert and pay him monthly consulting fees.

Gus orders Hector's treatment halted after he has regained movement in his right index finger, leaving his recovered mind trapped in his unhealed body.

Gus works with Mike to plan the construction of an underground meth "superlab" under Lavandería Brillante, an industrial laundry he owns, using a design provided by chemist Gale Boetticher.

Because Lalo remains suspicious, Gus shuts down construction of the underground meth lab and has Mike send Werner's workers home.

Mike works under an assumed name to secretly point the police toward Lalo for the murder of Fred the money wire store clerk.

[30] As Gus oversees the cleanup and rebuilding of the Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant that was burned down, Mike informs him that Lalo has returned to his home in Chihuahua, and that Nacho is with him.

[32] Juan Bolsa and his men break into the duplicate safe and find the envelope containing the motel's phone number and details of an offshore bank account.

[33][34] As Mike takes up a firing position with his rifle, Gus, Victor, and Tyrus hand Nacho over to Juan Bolsa, Hector Salamanca, and the Cousins.

[33] Convinced that Lalo is alive, Gus takes precautions including wearing a bulletproof vest under his clothes and carrying a gun.

[35] While a body double takes his place in his home, Gus uses a tunnel system to enter a nearby house, which is revealed to be an operations center from which he oversees vast surveillance activities that scour Albuquerque for signs of Lalo.

With Jesse unconscious after using heroin with his girlfriend Jane Margolis, Walt is forced to miss the birth of his daughter Holly to make the delivery.

Leonel and Marco Salamanca are impatient and travel from Mexico to the US to carry out the murder, but Gus intervenes and points them to Hank, who actually killed Tuco.

Knowing he was recognized at Gale's apartment, Victor fears for his life and attempts to show his usefulness to Gus by beginning to cook meth, which he learned how to do while guarding Walt and Jesse.

During the fight that ensues after cartel leaders begin dying, Jesse helps the ill Gus and wounded Mike escape, killing Hector's last known living grandson, Joaquin Salamanca, in the process.

When police successfully interdict these payments, Walt fears his identity will be exposed and attempts to obtain the employees' names from Mike so he can have them killed.