Belo Tusus governed Orto towards the end of the Clone Wars. Initially serving as the Financial Minister for the neutral Ortolan government, Tusus shifted his allegiance to the Confederacy of Independent Systems, then engaged in the Clone Wars against the Galactic Republic at that time. Tusus plotted to overthrow the existing government, successfully doing so, and declared himself the leader of his new government, thereby dragging Orto into the broader galactic conflict. He solidified his control in the capital city, ruling from a palace, and sealed off his planet's spaceports as Orto was occupied by the Confederacy. The population was largely helpless, forced to live in fear as battle droids marched through the capital.
In 19 BBY, Tusus's rule was soon interrupted by a series of acts of sabotage and attacks. As his government's operations were consistently undermined, his paranoia grew, leading him to suspect both his own staff and his Confederate allies. His trust in the Confederacy diminished when Jedi Knight Nem Bees, who was secretly investigating Tusus, collaborated with Tusus's own Twi'lek servant to sabotage the new government. Subsequently, the Jedi Knight summoned the forces of the Galactic Republic and launched an assault on Tusus's regime. Feeling betrayed and fearing for his safety, Tusus escaped from Orto, which led Bees and the Republic into a drawn-out battle during the Clone Wars' final days.
During the era of the Clone Wars, Belo Tusus held the position of Financial Minister on Orto. Despite the Ortolan government maintaining neutrality throughout the conflict, Tusus favored the Confederacy of Independent Systems over the Galactic Republic. As secessionist movements gained momentum along the outer reaches of the Rimma Trade Route, Tusus secretly plotted a coup d'etat to depose the existing Ortolan government, seize control of Orto, and align his world with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Republic Intelligence detected the conspiracy, but the fact that Tusus was the instigating element remained concealed.
Before long, Tusus made his move for power, openly declaring his support for the Confederacy before overthrowing the government and installing himself as the planet's leader. He ordered the closure of all of Orto's spaceports as his Confederate allies arrived. These new arrivals moved into the capital city, with their battle droids parading through the streets, and Tusus was assigned Confederate Neimoidian attachés. The new leader of Orto then focused on solidifying his control over the planet, working to establish his government while ruling from the capital's palace.
By the year 19 BBY, Tusus's rule was challenged by a series of inexplicable acts of sabotage. On multiple occasions, battle droid units inexplicably refused to deploy, and the navigation systems of shuttles were secretly disabled. As these effective strikes against his government continued, Tusus grew increasingly paranoid, suspecting both his own staff and his Confederate attachés of treachery. In reality, the traitor was his own Twi'lek servant, who had been providing information to the Ortolan Jedi Knight Nem Bees. Bees had been operating on Orto before Tusus's coup, dispatched by the Republic to investigate the Financial Minister's activities. To avoid detection, Bees had disguised himself as the trader Ydde, who had died some years prior.
In addition to sharing sensitive details about Tusus's government with Bees, the usurper's servant also provided the Jedi Knight with access to a HoloNet transceiver. This allowed the undercover Ortolan to contact the Republic and request a force of clone troopers, while he infiltrated the palace and disabled a critical shield generator. Tusus, distrusting the Confederacy's ability to protect him and fearing for his life, fled Orto. Republic forces, under Bees's command, engaged in a prolonged campaign against Tusus's entrenched Confederate forces, during which the Jedi Knight was killed by his own men.
When plotting to overthrow the Ortolan government and seize power, Tusus managed to conceal his involvement from the Republic, even though they were aware of a plot. He also kept his allegiance to the Confederacy a secret until his public announcement. Tusus forced his neutral planet into a galaxy-wide war on the side of the Confederacy, allowing troops to occupy his world, which frightened his populace. Once in power, Tusus acted swiftly to solidify his rule and secure the planet. However, he soon became overly paranoid, suspecting both his own government and the Confederacy of betrayal. His paranoia blinded him to the true traitor—his Twi'lek servant. When his position was threatened by a Republican invasion, Tusus abandoned his world, distrusting his Confederate allies and fearing for his safety.
The character of Belo Tusus was conceived by Kyle Jewhurst through the now-defunct StarWars.com Hyperspace feature called "What's The Story?" Tusus is mentioned in Jewhurst's Databank entry for Nem Bees, a character who made a brief appearance in "Chapter 22" of the Star Wars: Clone Wars television series. Jewhurst drew inspiration from the name of another Ortolan, Max Rebo, for both Bees's and Tusus's names—keeping them short with no more than two syllables. According to Jewhurst, the name "Belo Tusus" was created in roughly thirty seconds of experimenting with different letter combinations.
The character of Tusus was originally intended to be a wealthy Ortolan briefly seen in Republic 79. This character is depicted on Toola in a crowded marketplace, accompanied by a Twi'lek slave. A Jedi Master, Kai Hudorra, who is in hiding, steals the Ortolan's purse, an act that amuses the slave. The Ortolan, realizing he has been robbed, strikes his aide for not alerting him to the theft. In Jewhurst's original entry, there was a reference to Tusus fleeing to Toola, but this was removed by Lucas Online staff before the Databank entry was published. Furthermore, while Jewhurst intended Tusus to be an Ortolan, this is not explicitly stated in the final Databank entry.