Very little is publicly known about Héctor Orlando Bastidas’ early life, including his childhood or family background. He was reportedly born in the Putumayo Department in southern Colombia, a region known for its history of armed conflict, guerrilla activity, and illegal drug trade. Bastidas eventually rose to prominence in the underworld under the nickname “Bonito,” later also earning the moniker "El señor de la B." By the early 2010s, he had become one of the most feared and powerful criminal actors in southern Colombia.

Bastidas was the leader of a violent gang known as Los Constru (or "The Constru"), which operated mainly in the Putumayo Department. His organization functioned under a model of selective assassinations, forced extortion, and heavy involvement in cocaine trafficking. According to Colombian law enforcement, Bastidas was not only a killer-for-hire but also managed large-scale drug operations, reportedly producing up to 1,000 kilograms of cocaine per month, which was sold across Colombia and trafficked to the United States.

He allied himself with several armed criminal organizations over the years, including Los Rastrojos and dissident FARC groups—specifically the 34th and 48th fronts. These groups provided him with a security detail that included about 20 armed guerrillas acting as bodyguards. As Bastidas gained more power, his criminal group was allegedly responsible for more than 65% of all murders in the Putumayo region in 2014 alone.

Between 2011 and 2015, Héctor Orlando Bastidas led a reign of terror across southern Colombia as the leader of "Los Constru." Under his command, the group operated as a violent cartel-like organization involved in drug trafficking, extortion, and contract killings. He became notorious for ordering executions against anyone who refused to pay "revolutionary taxes"—a system of extortion common in Colombian conflict zones.

One of the most high-profile murders linked to Bastidas occurred on October 3, 2013, when his men assassinated Luz Milena Álvarez Delgado, the branch manager of the Agrarian Bank of Colombia in Valle del Guamuez. Her husband was also murdered in the same attack. This act sent shockwaves throughout the country, exposing the reach and brutality of Bastidas’ criminal network.

Authorities have estimated that Bastidas was either directly involved in or ordered between 100 and 160 killings, making him one of the most prolific serial killers operating in modern Colombia. The murders were often carried out in public, sometimes execution-style, to serve as a warning to others.

In 2015, following years of investigation, the DIJIN (Judicial Investigation Section) launched a successful operation that led to Bastidas’ arrest in Pitalito, Huila. During the raid, authorities seized luxury vehicles, ATVs, firearms, and approximately 40 million Colombian pesos in cash (around USD $10,000 at the time). He was transferred to La Picota Prison in Bogotá, a high-security facility that houses some of Colombia’s most dangerous inmates.

Despite his arrest, Bastidas’ legacy remains as one of the darkest figures of organized violence in Putumayo. His reign blended cartel-style drug trafficking with guerrilla-backed violence, making him a lethal hybrid of the country’s two most dangerous criminal forces.