After attempting to establish a partnership with the Cartel, Max was murdered by Hector Salamanca on the orders of
Sexuality. Much of Gus' motives are driven by revenge for the death of his partner Maximino "Max" Arciniega by the Mexican cartel. Gus and Max's relationship was long implied to be more than business before their confirmation as lovers by showrunner Peter Gould in 2022.
Don Eladio hosted a meeting between all parties to discuss the future of the cartel, but he wasn't pleased with how Gus and his partner, Max Arciniega (James Martinez), did their business. Hector shot and killed Max, jumpstarting Gus' hatred toward the Salamanca Breaking Bad family.
Don Eladio spared Gus' life when he killed Max Arciniega because he knew who Gus was. He recognized him as the man who had built his empire and was therefore not a threat that could be eliminated easily.
They wanted to use his distribution network. Killing him would be a mistake given how high-profile he was, albeit he wasn't as high profile than he was in later years.
The real reason why Gus killed Victor in such a brutal fashion is that it sends a crystal clear message to the two men: if they put the operation at risk, then Gus wouldn't hesitate to kill either one of them as well.
He is also the business rival and arch-nemesis of Gus Fring, whose drive for revenge was created by Hector when he murdered his boyfriend, Max Arciniega, in front of him under Don Eladio's orders.
Breaking Bad
He has his Los Pollos Hermanos trucks, which store meth in them, hijacked by the Cartel's men. Eladio sends one of his men, Gaff, to Gus so he will give him the recipe for Gus' Blue Sky meth, the true reason for the sudden hits against him.
Hatred. Gus Fring's biggest weakness was his unending hatred for Hector Salamanca, who, twenty years ago, had shot his partner in the head just to make a point. That's why he spent the next 20 years in the drug business and not just go back to cooking fried chicken and making a stable profit.
As Gus explains to Mike when Mike attempted to kill Hector: he needed him alive, as in Breaking Bad it's explained that Hector killed Gus' close friend (and possible lover) Max, which caused Gus to have an undying vendetta against Hector.
During this time, Gus and Max began giving out samples of Max's methamphetamine product to attract the attention of the Juárez cartel, in hopes of working with them for mutual profit. But, in 1989, during the meeting with the leaders of said Cartel, Max was murdered by Hector Salamanca, ordered by Don Eladio Vuente.
Marco and Leonel Salamanca were raised by their uncle, Don Hector Salamanca. Since their early days, Hector taught them hard lessons about life and how they should always put family in front of everything.
Hector is a former drug agent who worked for Don Eladio. His family members are very involved in the drug business. After an unexplained incident, he's left paralyzed in most of his body and can't speak or move on his own. His only means of communication is the bell on his wheelchair.
Ever since Giancarlo Esposito's debut in Breaking Bad fans have wondered is Gustavo Fring gay, and Better Call Saul season 6 has all but confirmed Gus is indeed homosexual.
After attempting to establish a partnership with the Cartel, Max was murdered by Hector Salamanca on the orders of Don Eladio as punishment for Gustavo's disrespectful actions of manipulating Eladio into a meeting by selling drugs to his men without consent.
The Salamanca cousins don't speak due to Breaking Bad positioning them as a terrifying force of nature, but this, unfortunately, does not work. Throughout season 3, the audience is slowly given information about how the brothers are getting to New Mexico, and how they find out about Walter White and Hank Schrader.
Lalo died smiling as a nod to the maniacal personality he carried throughout life, but also to stress the satisfaction he derived from having been right about Gus. The familiar, creepy smirk was one final act of rebellion. Even in his most painful moment, he refused to let Gus see a glimmer of defeat on his face.
Gus Fring hated Hector Salamanca, because Hector killed Max Arciniega, who was Gus's best friend and possibly lover in 1989.
He is a major kingpin in the Breaking Bad series. He covers up his drug activity by owning legitimate businesses and doing charity work. His heart and conscience have become wicked, and he reflects who Walter White may have wanted to become. Gus is evil, but he's also calculating.
Bruckner dismisses Hector knocking over a water glass as involuntary, but Gus sees that Hector did it purposely so he could ogle the nurse who cleaned it up. Gus tells Bruckner to end treatment, in effect trapping Hector's healed mind inside his unhealed body.
'Better Call Saul': Giancarlo Esposito on Why Gus Fring Fears Lalo Salamanca - IMDb.
After Max was killed in front of his eyes, the loss of such an emotional and possible romantic factor of his life snapped Gustavo into a ruthless crime lord.
Hector then finally looks at Gus and dings his bell rapidly but the bell is hollow. Walt planted his car bomb under Hector's chair and the bell was being used as a trigger. As soon as Gus realized this the bomb exploded and Gus walked out with half his face off before he collapses and dies. Walter White Jr.
Gus Fring's verbal beat-down also confirms (if it wasn't already clear) that the real reason he didn't let Hector die from a heart attack in Better Call Saul season 3 was because he wanted the Salamanca patriarch to watch everything and everyone he loved die before kicking the bucket himself.
He hated him because he was from South America. He hated him because as a young man, Gus failed to show proper respect. If Hector had his way years ago, Gus would have been killed at the same time that Max was killed.