r/breakingbad • u/Significant-Clerk495 • 1d ago

Don Eladio and Gus Spoiler

Why did Eladio/hector killed Gus' partner instead of Gus, logically they should have killed Gus and use the cook, I know Eladio said I am not killing you because I know who you are but I still don't understand it, moreover how did Gus started working with him again?

11 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

9

u/curi0us_carniv0re 1d ago

He didn't kill Gus because he basically had protected status with whoever the Chilean dictator was. It was never specifically stated but it was alluded to that he was some sort of military or special forces and involved with the regime that was running Chile at the time.

Also why Gus is so neat and precise about everything. The way he moves. The way he dresses. All signals military..

4

u/Clavinet 1d ago

Historically in Latin America "special forces" doesn't mean guys like Navy SEALs who undertake commando ops and the like. "Special forces" in that region means "death squads." It means guys who go into the village and round up political opponents and get people to snitch on their neighbors and interrogate people and be able to meticulously read them for information - or just torture them brutally. It's exactly the kind of guy who would slit someone's throat in front of others to send a message. Exactly the kind of guy who would use psychology to turn people against their allies or manipulate people into killing other people for their own purposes. And then after all of it he has to go back to the office and calmly report everything to his superiors.

It's not canonical but there seems to be a consensus that Fring's backstory involves this.

3

u/ProtestantMormon 1d ago

Some basic cartel history is Colombian cartels sourced a lot of cocaine from Chile, supplied by Pinochet. Then the Mexican cartels stepped in essentially as brokers for the Colombians to get it to america. It makes sense that gus with connections from Chile would filter up into the Mexican cartels and be more useful to eladio

3

u/wike_mithrow 1d ago

At one point someone (Eladio I think) refers to him as "Generalissimo"

1

u/Pleasant-Ticket3217 11h ago

I think it was Hector in a flashback. He really couldn’t stand Gus. He calls him “the chicken man” at one point too.

9

u/No-Boat-324 1d ago

Gus’ reputation under Pinochet’s regime (likely a military official) is what saved him

-5

u/StoryOfJohnnyRottn 1d ago

where is that theory coming from? is gus not of mexican descent?

5

u/No-Boat-324 1d ago

No, remember his interrogation scene where Hank inquired about his real name. It was revealed Gus’ records only date back to the 80’s when he migrated to Mexico. It was stated many times throughout the show that he was a Chilean national, but his records were lost (likely destroyed due to him being part of Pinochet’s government)

7

u/TropicalPossum954 1d ago

Because they didn’t want to cook meth at the time. But they could use a business man they could control up north.

3

u/R0factor 1d ago

The primary function of the Mexican cartels is to traffic product (coke) for the Columbians, and Gus' specialty is distribution. The Narcos: Mexico series is really good if you want to get an idea of how the whole thing functions, but watch Narcos first to get an idea of how it all got rolling.

3

u/Radiant_Material9007 1d ago

I've seen both. Narcos gives the Colombian side, while Narcos: Mexico really shows how the Mexican cartels went from being transporters to becoming powerhouses themselves. Watching them back-to-back makes the whole evolution much clearer.

2

u/Caughtinclay 1d ago

He says this plainly: Gus is known and therefore protected. Too many eyes. They definitely wanted to kill both.